May 19, 2004 — Harald Eggers, the CEO of Infineon AG’s memory products business group, will step down “of his own request” effective June 1, the company said. He will continue to head various corporate projects until the end of December, after which point he will work as a consultant “at the company’s disposal.”

Thomas Seifert, head of the company’s wireline communications business group, will step in to lead the memory unit, while Peter Gruber, wireline group CFO, will take his place until a successor can be appointed. Seifert has led Infineon’s wireline group since 2002, through phases of restructuring and the sale of Infineon’s optical fiber components business to Finisar. Prior to joining that group he headed up the White Oak Semiconductor facility, Infineon’s JV with Motorola in Richmond, VA.

The executive shuffle has given new life to rumors that the German chipmaker wants to exit the DRAM business. A recent Dow Jones story cited industry sources as suggesting Infineon is looking to spin off its DRAM business either as a joint venture or a related business. An Infineon spokesman, however, said that Eggers’ exit is unrelated to any memory-business plans, and that DRAM “will remain a core business.”