ASML to Give €20,000 Bonus to All 45,000 Employees
ASML will give all 45,000 employees globally a one-time €20,000 ($22,862) share award, vesting in 2030. This bonus follows similar payouts by Samsung, SK Hynix, and TSMC driven by AI demand and record sales.
AI Profits Sharing with Workers
The AI wealth is trickling down to workers across the chip industry. Samsung offered average bonuses of $340,000 to chip workers after record profits. SK Hynix made similar payouts, while TSMC committed to boosting profit-sharing by more than 30% on average this year.
Retention Tool for ASML
The ASML bonus doubles as a retention tool. The company is in the middle of a restructuring, needing to hire and retain engineers crucial for building complex machines. With a vesting date in 2030, the award ensures employees stay through the period of ASML’s most aggressive capacity expansion.
Notable Figures
- Total Value: Approximately €900 million
- Sales Forecast: Between €43 billion and €45 billion for 2027
- Production Capacity: Planned increase of 30% by 2027
- Machine Build Time: Reduced by a third
Context
ASML, the only maker of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, is essential to every advanced chip produced by TSMC, Samsung, and Intel. The company raised its annual sales forecast for the second time this year, outlining plans to expand production capacity significantly in 2027.