According to a person familiar with the matter, the anti-immigrant policy of the Netherlands has led lithography giant ASML to consider moving out of the Netherlands, according to a person familiar with the matter. At present, the Netherlands** has set up a task force, called the "Beethoven Plan", which is personally led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, to find a solution to prevent ASML from leaving.
The report also pointed out that ASML has expressed its intention to the Netherlands** to expand or relocate elsewhere, with France being an alternative option.
In the Dutch parliamentary elections last November, the far-right populist Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) won a stunning victory, winning 37 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives.
Wilders, known as the "Dutch Trump", has publicly expressed his willingness to run for the post of the next Dutch prime minister. He has repeatedly stressed that if elected, he will focus on controlling immigration, including measures such as limiting the number of overseas students and reducing tax breaks for foreigners. He spoke out against Islam and the European Union, and supported a referendum on whether the Netherlands would leave the European Union.
The trend of a "clear shift to the right" in Dutch politics has raised concerns for ASML. ASML reportedly owns about 230,000 employees, of which around 40% are non-Dutch nationals. Overseas students are one of the company's main workforces**.
ASML CEO Wennink has previously warned that the company is highly reliant on highly skilled foreign workers, while also being concerned about the deteriorating business environment in the Netherlands. In January, he said: "Restricting labor mobility will have huge consequences, and we need these people to drive innovation." If we can't find them here, we'll have to think about other development sites. ”
In addition, it is reported that the housing shortage in the Netherlands is also one of the reasons why ASML is considering moving out.
An ASML spokesperson told The Telegraph: "We urgently need to continue expanding, but we can't respond to all the speculation about our development plans, how and where we will do it." ”
Dutch Economy Minister Adriansens did not respond directly to the report in an interview with Reuters. She confirmed that she planned to meet with ASML CEO Wennink in The Hague, the Netherlands, that day.
I'm not sure if they'll choose to leave the Netherlands," Adriansens admitted, "and their desire for growth puts a strain on our infrastructure." She added: "That's why we have a close dialogue. We need to understand if we can solve this problem. ”
According to public information, ASML, headquartered in the Netherlands, is the third largest company in Europe by market capitalization, with a market capitalization of nearly 365 billion euros. Last year, ASML posted record revenues of €27.6 billion, up 30% year-on-year, and net profit surged to €7.8 billion, up around €2.2 billion from the year before.
The Telegraph reports that the Netherlands will face great challenges as ASML is likely to leave or expand overseas. Recently, the instability of the business environment in the Netherlands has caused widespread concern, with some multinationals such as Shell and Unilever choosing to leave.
According to Bloomberg, manufacturing the most advanced chips requires extremely complex equipment, including EUV lithography machines. ASML is the only company in the world to offer state-of-the-art lithography machines, and as the "chip race" between China and the United States intensifies, the company's importance is not only financially enormous, but also strategically important.