(Corrects repetition in title)
by Toby Sterling
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The Dutch government is talking to semiconductor equipment maker ASML to ensure the country’s largest company does not move elsewhere or expand abroad due to policies restrictive migration policies, declared the Dutch Minister of Economy.
These discussions were first reported by the newspaper De Telegraaf on Wednesday, which cited anonymous sources and specified that the ministries concerned named the initiative “Operation Beethoven”.
In an interview with Reuters, Economy Minister Micky Adriaansens did not want to address all aspects of the subject but confirmed that she was meeting ASML Director General Peter Wennink in The Hague on Wednesday in the framework of “ongoing discussions”.
“I don’t know if they would leave the Netherlands,” she said. “They want to develop. And their growth is such that it puts pressure on our infrastructure.”
“That’s why we’re talking to them very intensively. Because we want to understand if this is something we can solve,” she added.
The general director of ASML warned in January that his company was heavily dependent on qualified foreign labor, after the electoral victory of Geert Wilders’ far-right party in the November 2023 legislative elections.
FOREIGN STUDENTS
Parties trying to form a right-wing coalition following the elections are considering limiting the number of foreign students admitted to Dutch universities, a key source of labor for the country’s technology companies.
ASML declined to comment on Wednesday. The group, of which around 40% of the 23,000 employees in the Netherlands are not Dutch, dominates the market for lithography systems, used to create chip circuits.
Peter Wennink, however, spoke at an event in The Hague.
“Some of the things that made us a great company are under pressure,” he said, citing tougher regulations and a plan to remove a tax break for highly skilled foreigners.
Although it is difficult for the company to move its headquarters, currently located in Veldhoven (Netherlands), De Telegraaf mentions France as a possible destination for the company’s expansion, citing only one source.
Chipmakers are investing heavily in setting up new factories, spurred by the growing use of semiconductors and subsidies from the US and EU, which aim to keep the West ahead of China in the race for advanced technologies.
(Reporting Toby Sterling; French version Diana Mandiá, editing by Kate Entringer)
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