Chip Titan ASML Suffers New Strain of ‘Dutch Disease’

The bigger they are, the harder they lobby. Europe’s largest tech firm, chipmaking-machine supplier ASML Holding NV, has sent the Dutch government into a panic after warning it can’t commit to growing in its home country unless the political climate becomes more amenable to attracting foreign talent. ASML has even reportedly threatened to move to France, which isn’t typically a good sign.

Competition between regional hubs to attract investment is accelerating these days, and it’s quite the compliment for French President Emmanuel Macron that his pro-business reforms and lavish subsidies look more welcoming than the recent clampdown on expat worker tax breaks in the Netherlands amid rising anti-immigrant hostility. But the idea that ASML would actually relocate its 23,000 Dutch staff to the land of the 35-hour work week stretches credulity.