Nexperia has withheld access to work accounts and halted salaries for its employees in China, according to local news reports citing a letter from the Chinese unit of the Dutch chipmaker, marking the latest escalation in a growing political dispute between the Netherlands and China.

The Chinese unit of Nexperia informed customers on Friday that it had been notified by headquarters that salary payments would cease and employees’ access to company systems would be suspended, according to Chinese media reports.

“We are deeply puzzled and disappointed,” the unit said in the letter, according to Chinese tech news outlet Electrans. The subsidiary said it faced “ruthless suppression” and noted that the current European management appeared to be “abandoning” the Chinese market.

Chinese electronics manufacturer Wingtech Technology, which bought Nexperia in 2019, confirmed to local media on Saturday that the accounts of Nexperia’s China team were blocked on Friday for “unknown reasons”. It added that some accounts had since been restored.