The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Manufacturing (28) Manufacture of machinery and equipment 28.9 - Manufacture of other special-purpose machinery 28.99 - Manufacture of other special-purpose machinery n.e.c.
1,700 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
28 January 2026
Employment effect (start)
28 January 2026
Foreseen end date
31 December 2026
Description
ASML, a Dutch manufacturer of advanced chip-making equipment, has announced that it plans to cut about 1,700 jobs worldwide by the end of 2026.
The restructuring primarily will affect management and support roles within the technology and IT divisions in the Netherlands ASM Lithography (ASML) 2026-NL and the United States.
The company stated that this internal restructuring is aimed at increasing organisational agility to prepare for anticipated future growth, rather than reducing costs. Trade union CNV expressed shock at the announcement, particularly given its timing alongside ASML’s presentation of record-breaking 2025 financial results and optimistic 2026 growth forecasts. CNV questioned the rationale for reducing staff while simultaneously planning capacity expansion. ASML maintains that the restructuring is necessary to ensure its core innovation engine remains highly efficient amid surging global demand for AI-related semiconductor technologies.
Based in the Netherlands, ASML is a global leader in the chip industry with over 43,520 employees.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
