ASML watcher René Raaijmakers is not surprised by the large round of layoffs announced on Wednesday at ASML in Veldhoven. The world’s largest tech player wants to cut 1,700 jobs in the management levels of its research and development departments. “ASML has become increasingly similar to Philips. The chip machine manufacturer has become increasingly bureaucratic.”
The round of layoffs was announced, despite billions in profits. The chip machine manufacturer presented dark green figures with many zeros on Wednesday morning. The company achieved a turnover of 32.7 billion euros last year, an increase of 16 percent compared to 2024. Net profit amounted to 9.6 billion, compared to 7.6 billion euros the year before.
Yet ASML expert René Raaijmakers is not surprised. He knows a lot about ASML, wrote a book about the company and is currently working on a sequel. “There are many consultation structures. The technicians at ASML also complain about that.”
“The technology race in lithography is coming to an end.”
“When there is a meeting at a supplier, ten, sometimes twenty ASML people sit around the table to ensure everything runs smoothly, everyone for a separate part of the machine. Some of them also update their e-mail during the meeting, so to speak, because it is not their part.”
Raaijmakers understands the company’s choice. “I understand that they want to do something about efficiency.”
According to Raaijmakers, the technology race in lithography (ed. shrinking of the lines on chips) is coming to an end and the innovative steps are getting smaller. “The former technology boss at ASML, Martin van den Brink, always said: a team becomes more innovative and efficient when you have less money, fewer people and less time.”
“They will soon get back to work somewhere else in this region.”
According to him, the tech giant from Veldhoven actually wanted to intervene earlier, but deliberately postponed it. “If they had done that last year, in the middle of the recession of the semiconductor industry (ed. semiconductor industry where chips are produced), ASML’s share price would probably have taken a much bigger hit.”
That doesn’t seem to be too bad on Wednesday, although the price did dip at the end of the afternoon.
According to Raaijmakers, ASML must work differently. “Until now it was always a race: every two years a new machine had to be installed with steam and boiling water. But the game is different now. ASML has to work on reliability and ensure that the costs of chip production are reduced. Now the costs of chips are increasing.”
The unions are on their back legs due to the announced round of layoffs. The ASML expert considers it ‘nonsense’ in this case. “They are all very well-paid people, bright minds, who will soon receive an excellent severance package. And there is plenty of work in technology. They will soon find a job somewhere else in this region.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if these 1,700 people were all there again in two to three years.”
Yet the moment of the decision is striking. ASML is on the eve of enormous growth. The company wants to double its size in the coming years. In March, ASML wants to break ground on the construction of their new cleanrooms and offices on the Brainport Industries Campus (BIC) near Eindhoven Airport.
This expansion will take place in phases. Ultimately, the new location should provide space for 20,000 new bright minds at ASML. This means doubling the current number of ASML employees in the region.
Raaijmakers would not be surprised if the dismissed employees are ultimately needed again at ASML after the expansion in Eindhoven. “It would not surprise me if these 1,700 people were all there again in two to three years.”
