Dutch government kicks off 'Operation Beethoven' to stop ASML from moving to another country

ASML is the biggest company in The Netherlands, so it makes sense that the Dutch government is kissing the ring to ensure they don't move countries... or expand overseas.

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In a new report from Reuters, the outlet covers that the news of the Dutch government making its moves with ASML from newspaper De Telegraaf, citing -- as usual -- "anonymous sources" that said the Dutch ministries involved have called this project "Operation Beethoven".

Economic Affairs Minister Micky Adriaansens said that she wouldn't address every aspect of the paper's report, but during an interview with Reuters, she confirmed a meeting with ASML CEO Peter Wennick in The Hague on Wednesday. Adriaansens added: "I don't know if they would leave," the Netherlands, as "They want to grow. And they want to grow in such an amount, it puts a pressure on our infrastructure."

Adriaansens continued, adding: "That's why we're talking to them very intensively. Because we want to understand, is it something we can solve? Some of these elements that made us a great company, those elements are under pressure."

ASML CEO Peter Wennick said back in January that his company was highly reliant on skilled foreign labor after anti-immigration parties booked big fans in the 2023 elections. ASML declined to comment on this news, but during an event in The Hague, Wennick said he was worried that the business climate in the Netherlands was worsening.

Wennick said: "Some of these elements that made us a great company, those elements are under pressure."

ASML has around 23,000 employees right now, with 40% of them not from Dutch. Europe's largest technology company -- ASML -- sources parts from all around the planet, assembling its high-end machines in Veldhoven, Netherlands, before it ships them out to its companies across the world. Intel was its most recent company, receiving a new Twinscan EXE:5000 High-NA lithography machine worth $380 million for US production.