Dutch Government Doesn't Want ASML To Move Abroad

JAKARTA - The Dutch government is talking with semiconductor equipment producer ASML to ensure that the Netherlands' largest company does not move to other countries or expand overseas due to anti-immigration policies. This was said by the country's economic ministry, this week.

This news was first reported by the De Telegraaf newspaper, which cited anonymous sources and said the ministry involved had named the effort "Operation mediate".

The Minister of Economic Affairs, Micky Adriaansens, will not discuss all aspects of the report but in an interview with Reuters he confirmed that he would meet ASML CEO Peter Wenink in The Hague on Wednesday, March 6, as part of ongoing talks.

"I don't know if they're leaving the Netherlands," he said. "They want to thrive. And they want to thrive in the amount that puts pressure on our infrastructure. That's why we talk to them very intensely. Because we want to understand, is that something we can solve?"

The report follows comments made by ASML CEO Peter Wenink in January when he warned that his company was heavily dependent on skilled foreign workers after the anti-immigration party made a big profit in the 2023 election.

ASML declined to comment on Wednesday. However, Wenink spoke at an event in The Hague and said he was worried that the business climate in the Netherlands was deteriorating.

"Some of the elements that make us a great company, these elements are under pressure," he said, alluding to the increase in regulations and plans to remove tax incentives given to skilled immigrants.

Around 40% of the 23,000 ASML employees in the Netherlands are not Dutch nationals. The largest tech company in Europe is gaining share of the rest of the world but is currently assembling its engines in Veldhoven, the Netherlands before sending them to major computer chip manufacturers.

ASML dominates the litography system market, which is used to help create chip circuits. The company is currently doing a round of expansions and hopes to require more human resources in the coming years as global demand for chips increases.

multinational companies such as Shell and Unilever have left the Netherlands in recent years following unfavorable changes to Dutch tax laws.

Another policy being considered by parties seeking to form a far-right government after the election is to limit the number of foreign students who can study at Dutch universities - the main source of labor for the country's technology companies.

"As a result of the limitation on labor migration is huge, we need those people to innovate," Wenink said in January. "If we can't get those people here, we'll go elsewhere where we can grow."

While it would be difficult for the company to move its headquarters, De Telegraaf called France a possible destination for the company's expansion, citing a single source.

Semiconductor companies around the world are disbursing billions of dollars of investment to set up new factories. This is driven by the increasing use of semiconductors in everyday devices and generous subsidies from the United States and the European Union aimed at keeping the West superior to China in the cutting-edge tech race.