ASML Holding NV plans to slow hiring this year amid a short-term downturn in the chip industry and after it enrolled 10,000 employees in 2022.
(Bloomberg) — ASML Holding NV plans to slow hiring this year amid a short-term downturn in the chip industry and after it enrolled 10,000 employees in 2022.
“The semiconductor industry has strong long-term growth prospects, but in the short-term it is going through a downturn,” Monique Mols, an ASML spokesperson, said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “It is uncertain when a recovery can be expected.”
Europe’s largest semiconductor-equipment maker grew to 40,000 people last year as the firm continued to see strong demand for its advanced lithography systems. The company wants to focus on managing the surging growth in workers from last year and the on-boarding of specialist workers such as engineers, which takes time. The company is not considering a complete hiring freeze.
As ASML’s sales are expected to grow more than 25% this year, “our hiring efforts have resulted in sufficient headcount to support this growth scenario,” Mols said.
Equipment makers are facing a slowdown in orders from some customers in the chip market, as rising interest rates and surging inflation dents consumer sentiment. ASML warned at the start of the year of “mixed signals” on demand from different end-market segments.
The firm has a backlog of €38.9 billion ($42.9 billion) but its first-quarter bookings dropped 46% to €3.75 billion from a year earlier.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.