(Eindhoven, Jan 29)
Dutch lithography giant ASML plans to cut around 1,700 jobs, primarily in technical functions and its information technology (IT) organization. The announcement comes shortly after the company reported its 13th consecutive year of sales growth.
According to overseas media reports, ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 28) that most of the layoffs will take place in the Netherlands, with a smaller portion affecting roles in the United States. The cuts are expected to focus mainly on management positions and represent roughly 4% of ASML’s total workforce.
ASML is the only company in the world capable of producing the most advanced lithography machines—equipment that is essential for manufacturing leading-edge semiconductors. The company has continued to benefit from hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into AI infrastructure investment.
Record Q4 orders, growth outlook intact
ASML also reported that orders in the fourth quarter hit a record level and said it expects sales to continue growing in 2026.
CFO Roger Dassen told reporters on a conference call that the decision followed internal feedback suggesting the organization had become “too complex,” causing excessive time to be spent on coordination rather than execution.
“Our goal is to get engineers back to focusing on engineering,” he said.
