ASML cuts 1,700 leadership roles to declutter

Amid record revenue and swelling demand for its cutting-edge lithography systems, ASML is taking a bold step to rewire how it operates. Described by CEO Christophe Fouquet as “the most difficult decision the ASML management team ever had to make,” the semiconductor equipment giant announced it will cut around 1,700 roles as part of a major internal streamlining aimed at decluttering its technology organization and re-energizing its innovation engine.

The carefully prepared move, disclosed alongside ASML’s 2025 financial results, isn’t driven by economic pressure. As Fouquet previously explained to Bits&Chips, ASML’s rapid growth of recent years has created layers of leadership and complexity that now throw a wrench in the works.