Infineon CEO to step down

Wolfgang Ziebart

(Credit: Infineon)

The CEO of German chipmaker Infineon Technologies will step down next week, the company said Monday.

Wolfgang Ziebart, who has run the company since 2004, is leaving on June 1 "due to different opinions on the future strategic orientation of the company," Infineon said in a statement.

Peter Bauer, an executive vice president and head of Infineon's automotive, industrial, and multiple-market business group, will assume Ziebart's position as spokesman of the company's management board.

Peter Bauer

(Credit: Infineon)

Bauer, who was CEO of Siemens Microelectronics in the 1990s, joined Infineon when chip operations were spun off from Siemens in 1999.

Infineon, which has been losing money recently, also announced a program to try to improve margins.

The company, which is based in Neubiberg, Germany, has about 43,000 employees and is one of Europe's biggest chipmakers.