Infineon Drops Plans to Move Abroad

Munich-based Infineon, Europe's second-largest maker of semi-conductors, announced on Friday that it was scrapping plans to relocate its headquarters to Switzerland following the surprise resignation of CEO Ulrich Schumacher. Schumacher was the main proponent of the relocation plans, aimed at lowering Infineon's tax burden, but which had sparked controversy in Germany. Infineon's chief financial officer Peter Fischl said Schumacher's decision to quit was a personal one and denied it had anything to do with possible financial problems of the group. A report in the daily Die Welt had said the computer chip maker was facing "serious operational and strategic problems." But Fischl insisted there were no plans to change strategy. Schumacher, who turns 46 next week, had been chairman of Infineon since April 1999, when the German electronics giant Siemens turned its semi-conductors business into a separate company.