Wolfspeed fires its CEO after shares of the company plummeted this year

Zoom in: In recent months, the company has moved to lay off 20% of its staff, closed a factory in Durham and delayed a future plant in Germany.

• And in the past few years, its stock price has fallen from a high of around $140 a share to around $7 a share on the news Lowe was being removed.
• The company, founded on technology built at N.C. State University, has said throughout it is still committed to the 1,800 job expansion it has planned in Chatham County.

Driving the news: Wolfspeed said Monday morning that Lowe will depart the company this month and that it will begin a search for a new CEO.

What they're saying: Thomas Werner, who has been named executive chairman in Lowe's absence, said Wolfspeed is still committed to its agreement with the federal government to receive CHIPS Act funding — as well as the layoffs and factory closure it recently announced.

• Wolfspeed "is materially undervalued relative to its strategic value," Werner said, and added that he'll focus on exploring "options to unlock value."

Lowe, one of the Triangle region's highest-paid CEOs, said in a statement that he was honored to lead the company through its transition from Cree into Wolfspeed.

• Lowe renamed the company to Wolfspeed in 2021 after selling off the company's LED lighting business and turning the focus solely to making silicon carbide chips.
• "While there is work still to be done, I have every confidence that Wolfspeed will execute on its strategic priorities and extend its silicon carbide leadership in the years to come," he said in a statement.