ASML Locks in Job Cuts with Union Backing as Chip Boom Drives Shares to Doorstep of Record

ASML eliminates 1,700 jobs in restructuring after social plan approval; stock rallies 133% on AI chip demand, with analysts bullish and buyback support.

The Dutch lithography giant ASML is engineering two seemingly contradictory narratives: a sweeping internal restructuring that will eliminate 1,700 positions, and a stock market rally that has more than doubled the share price over the past twelve months. With the social plan now approved by nearly 70% of union members at the CNV, management has cleared a key hurdle just as the shares flirt with fresh highs.

Under the deal, compulsory redundancies are off the table until 1 May 2027. The cuts will fall hardest on development and IT, where multiple layers of middle management are being stripped away. ASML plans to redeploy affected employees into open roles internally, a process that could save hundreds of jobs from outright dismissal. The agreement removes a lingering source of uncertainty that had weighed on morale even as the order books swelled.

That operational strength is visible in the share price. After a 3.4% pullback earlier this week that knocked the stock to €1,581.40, ASML has since rebounded to around €1,626 — a level just 1% shy of the fresh annual high. The 12-month return now stands at more than 133%, while the year-to-date advance clocks in at nearly 65%. With a market capitalisation that reflects near-monopoly status in extreme ultraviolet lithography, the company remains the indispensable supplier for TSMC, Intel, and Samsung as they race to build out AI-era chip capacity.

ASML recently lifted its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to a range of €36 billion to €40 billion, with the gross margin expected to hold steady above 50%. The unabated hunger for computing power from artificial intelligence has packed the order pipeline, and the next-generation High-NA EUV machines are already being ramped up. The Wall Street consensus has turned overwhelmingly bullish: 38 of the 40 analysts covering the stock rate it a buy, with price targets ranging from €1,770 (Goldman Sachs) to €1,921 (Bank of America) and €1,900 (Barclays).

Adding further support, ASML has been active in the buyback market. During the first week of June alone, the company repurchased its own shares at a rate of nearly €16 million per day. That sustained demand from the issuer itself has helped cushion any short-term volatility.

Geopolitical risks remain a background noise — export controls on advanced technology could pinch certain markets — but investors are currently pricing in the growth story rather than the regulatory threat. The completed social plan now eliminates one internal distraction, leaving the stage clear for the AI-driven demand cycle to extend the rally into the second half of the year.