ASML is reorganising its Technology and IT organisation, affecting hundreds of employees in Veldhoven and across the Brainport region. The ASML Social Plan has been final since June 2026: the members of FNV Metaal, CNV, De Unie and VHP2 have approved it. The plan runs from 1 June 2026 to 1 June 2028. If your role falls under the Tech/IT transformation, your employment will not end before 1 May 2027. Below you can read what has been agreed, how much your severance pay will be and what to look out for before you sign anything.
Current status of the ASML reorganisation
At the end of January 2026, ASML announced that around 1,700 roles would disappear or change significantly, about 1,400 of them in the Netherlands. Most are management roles in the technology and IT departments. After eight rounds of negotiations, ASML and the trade unions reached a negotiated agreement on 11 May 2026. On 10 June 2026 the social plan became final.
According to FNV Metaal, the number of compulsory redundancies in the Netherlands is expected to be around 650, instead of the 1,400 initially anticipated. Employees affected by the Tech/IT transformation remain employed until at least 1 May 2027. Until then, you can still be redeployed internally. The selection rounds for the new roles are currently under way.
Who the ASML social plan applies to
- Applies to: employees with a permanent contract at ASML Netherlands, ASML Trading or Cymer in salary groups 1 to 16 whose position disappears because of an organisational change.
- Does not apply to: employees with a fixed-term contract that is not renewed. They can, however, use the support of the Mobility Center.
- Does not apply to: temporary agency workers, seconded staff and employees who leave for another reason, such as poor performance, their own resignation or reaching state pension (AOW) age.
The plan applies to every reorganisation at ASML until 1 June 2028, not just the current Tech/IT transformation. It replaces the redeployment scheme that ASML agreed with the works council in 2014.
When are you redundant at ASML
You are potentially redundant in a personal meeting, followed by written confirmation. This happens in three situations:
- Your role disappears. The role does not return in the new organisation. The reflection principle (afspiegelingsbeginsel) then plays no part.
- Fewer positions remain. Your role still exists, but with fewer colleagues. The Reflection principle then determines, per age group, who becomes redundant: the person with the shortest length of service goes first. For the Tech/IT transformation, the reference date is the date of the executive board's decision.
- Your role changes fundamentally. The new role is no longer interchangeable with your old one.
Does only your job title or reporting line change, or is your role replaced by an interchangeable one? Then the principle of 'employee follows the work' applies and you do not become redundant. Unsure whether your role has really disappeared, or whether the reflection principle was applied correctly? Have it assessed. Disputes about interchangeability and the reflection principle are decided by the UWV, not by the monitoring committee.
Redeployment within ASML
The redeployment period
The redeployment period starts on the date of notification. In general it lasts nine months, including the notice period. For the Tech/IT transformation, a fixed end date applies: 1 May 2027, or later if your notice period runs longer. During this period you have priority for internal vacancies and ASML must actively look for a suitable role, first within your own business unit and then across ASML as a whole.
The selection process for Tech and IT
- Selection takes place in three layers: first N-2 (such as Heads of Product), then N-3 (such as MDU Leads), then N-4/5 (such as domain owners and engineers).
- You can apply for roles up to one salary group higher or lower than your current level.
- For N-2 and N-3 you can apply for up to three roles. For N-4/5 you state three preferences and apply once.
- If there are more suitable candidates for one role, ASML selects the most suitable one after selection interviews. On request, ASML must explain its choice.
When is a role suitable
A role is suitable if it matches your education, experience and abilities. A role that differs by no more than one job grade, or for which you can be made suitable within six months, also counts as suitable. A role with a commute of more than one and a half hours each way is not suitable, unless you already travel that long today.
If you receive an offer, you have five working days to respond. You may turn down an offer once. If you refuse a second suitable role, a meeting follows and you can involve the monitoring committee. If you maintain your refusal, ASML will apply to the UWV for a dismissal permit. Please note: refusing suitable work can cost you your Unemployment benefit , and ASML does not compensate for this.
Redeployed to a lower or higher role
- Higher salary group: you receive a promotion increase under the standard ASML rules.
- Lower salary group 1 to 9: you receive the difference in fixed income as a personal allowance. Future collective and merit increases are offset against it.
- Salary group 10 and above: your basic monthly salary stays the same in nominal terms. STI, LTI and other benefits move to the new salary group.
Redeployment scheme and voluntary departure
If, after the reflection principle has been applied, you are not redundant but would still like to leave, you can sign up within ten working days as a stand-in (plaatsmaker) for a redundant colleague in an interchangeable role. The following conditions apply:
- You get 80 percent of the severance payment, without the signing bonus and without the other facilities.
- You cannot leave before the go-live date of the new organisation.
- Your non-compete and non-solicitation clauses in principle remain in force. You can, however, ask to be released from them.
In addition, ASML may open a voluntary departure scheme for potentially redundant employees, with a maximum per job category. Separate criteria are being drawn up for the Tech/IT transformation.
Severance pay at ASML
If redeployment is not possible, your employment preferably ends with a settlement agreement. The severance payment is made up as follows:
- Basis: one monthly salary per year of service, pro rata for the remaining months and for part-time employees.
- Minimum: four monthly salaries.
- Age supplement on the end date (not cumulative): from age 50 one extra monthly salary, from 53 two, from 56 three and from 60 four.
- Maximum: € 400,000 gross, or 24 monthly salaries if that is higher.
- Cap towards state pension age: the payment is never higher than your loss of income until your state pension (AOW) age, unless the statutory transition payment is higher. If your payment is capped and you voluntarily continue your PME pension, ASML compensates the premium.
The statutory transition payment is already included in this severance payment: you do not receive it on top.
Which monthly salary counts
In salary groups 1 to 9, the following count in addition to your basic salary: holiday allowance, thirteenth month, fixed shift allowance, stand-by and overtime allowance (average over twelve months), the emergency response (BHV) allowance and the average profit-sharing payment over three years. In salary group 10 and above, the average STI bonus over three payment periods counts in addition to your basic salary, plus the BHV allowance. Check these components carefully: in practice, this is where most calculation errors occur.
Calculation example
You are 54, have worked at ASML for 15 years and your monthly salary including fixed components is € 7,000. You then receive 15 monthly salaries plus 2 monthly salaries age supplement: 17 × € 7,000 = € 119,000 gross. If you sign on time, the signing bonus is added to this.
Signing bonus and the ten-working-day deadline
You get ten working days to sign the settlement agreement. If you sign within that period without reservation and do not use your statutory cooling-off period, you receive a signing bonus of one basic monthly salary, with a minimum of € 5,000 and a maximum of € 10,000.
If you do not sign, ASML will apply to the UWV for a dismissal permit. You then lose the signing bonus. In addition, the salary months after the end date in the offered settlement agreement are deducted from your severance payment. So have your agreement checked within those ten working days. Do not leave it until the last day.
Found a new job before the end date after signing? Report it in writing. Your employment then ends earlier and you keep your full severance payment. Before the go-live date, this is only possible with ASML's consent.
Outplacement, training and legal advice
- Outplacement: from the moment you are definitively redundant, for six months (twelve months with more than twenty years of service). You may also choose an agency nominated by the trade unions.
- Training budget: € 5,000 excluding VAT for external training or education, after advice from the Mobility Center. This budget is not paid out in cash.
- Leave for job applications: from the date of notification, you can take time off by arrangement while keeping your salary.
- Legal advice: a budget of € 1,250 excluding VAT, even if you have legal expenses insurance or are a trade union member.
Free legal advice via your ASML budget
We never charge you more than the € 1,250 legal budget that ASML reimburses. Checking your settlement agreement, the calculation of your severance pay and advice on your situation therefore cost you nothing. Contact us as soon as you receive the agreement, so you comfortably meet the ten-working-day deadline.
Non-compete clause, shares and other arrangements
- Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses: lapse as a general rule. For core engineering, sales and sourcing, the non-compete clause remains in force for competitors, but you can ask for permission. If a clause remains in force, its duration is reduced from twelve to nine months.
- Confidentiality: the confidentiality clause and the arrangements on intellectual property remain in force.
- LTI and STI: the LTI for the year of departure is granted pro rata. Earlier grants vest according to the grant letter. The STI (salary group 10 and above) and profit sharing (salary groups 1 to 9) are paid pro rata at the usual time.
- Study costs: repayment obligations lapse.
- Holiday days: untaken holiday and ADV days are paid out. During garden leave you do not accrue new days.
- Anniversary: if your service anniversary falls within six months (12.5 years) or twelve months (25 or 40 years) after the end date, you still receive the payment.
- Lease car: you may keep a lease car with private use until the end date. Any remaining personal contribution lapses.
- Returning: if you return to ASML within six months, you must repay (part of) the severance payment.
Additional arrangement for international local hires
Do you have a non-EU nationality and does your residence permit depend on your job at ASML, for example as a highly skilled migrant or with an EU Blue Card? Then you are entitled to a repatriation package: immigration advice, relocation support or a fixed relocation allowance, and help with your tax return. You can also extend your employment by up to four months. For each month, 1.2 monthly salaries are then deducted from your severance payment. An extension can give you extra time to find a new job within the search period for highly skilled migrants.
Objections: monitoring committee and hardship clause
The social plan includes a monitoring committee with two members on behalf of ASML, two on behalf of the trade unions and an independent chair. You can turn to it if you believe ASML is not applying the plan correctly, for example regarding the selection procedure, a job offer, the stand-in scheme or your non-compete clause. The committee advises within fifteen working days and ASML only deviates from that advice for compelling reasons.
If the plan leads to a clearly unreasonable outcome in your situation, you can invoke the hardship clause. Please note: an objection does not suspend any deadlines. The ten working days for signing keep running.
What to do now as an ASML employee
- Check your redundancy. Has your role really disappeared or changed significantly, and was the reflection principle applied correctly?
- Apply actively. Use your priority status and record your applications and responses in writing.
- Check the calculation. Are your years of service, the qualifying monthly salary and the age supplement correct?
- Have the settlement agreement checked within ten working days. This preserves your right to the signing bonus and protects your unemployment benefit.
- Compare your options. Would being a stand-in, voluntary departure or an earlier end date be more favourable for you?
Our employment lawyers in Eindhoven know the Brainport region and the tech sector, and support ASML employees with redundancy and settlement agreements. Also read our article on social plans in collective redundancies.
We check your agreement and the calculation within the deadline, within your ASML legal budget.
Frequently asked questions about the ASML reorganisation
Will I receive more than the statutory transition payment at ASML?
Yes, in almost all cases. You receive one monthly salary per year of service, with a minimum of four monthly salaries and an age supplement from age 50. The statutory transition payment is only one third of a monthly salary per year. The transition payment is already included in the ASML severance payment.
Until when will I remain employed under the Tech/IT transformation?
Until at least 1 May 2027, or longer if your notice period runs beyond that. Until that date there are no compulsory redundancies and you can still be redeployed internally.
How long do I have to sign the settlement agreement?
Ten working days. If you sign within that period without reservation, you receive a signing bonus of one basic monthly salary, with a minimum of € 5,000 and a maximum of € 10,000. So have the agreement checked as soon as you receive it.
Does ASML pay for my legal advice?
Yes. If you are definitively redundant, ASML reimburses legal advice up to € 1,250 excluding VAT. We stay within that budget, so the advice costs you nothing.
Can I refuse a role that is offered to me?
Once, yes. If you refuse a second suitable role, ASML can apply to the UWV for a dismissal permit and your unemployment benefit may be at risk. If you doubt whether a role is suitable, have that assessed first.
Does my non-competition clause still apply after leaving ASML?
Usually not: non-compete and non-solicitation clauses lapse as a general rule. For roles in core engineering, sales and sourcing, the non-compete clause remains in force for competitors, with a shorter duration of nine months. You can then ask for permission.
Sources
- ASML Social Plan 2026–2028 (final text, PDF)
- De Unie: negotiated agreement on the ASML Social Plan of 11 May 2026 (PDF, Dutch)
- FNV Metaal: negotiated agreement on the ASML Social Plan (Dutch)
- Computable: unions give green light to ASML social plan (10 June 2026, Dutch)
- Omroep Veldhoven: number of redundancies more than halved (Dutch)
- FNV Metaal: clarity after approval of the ASML social plan (11 June 2026, Dutch)
Updated on 9 October 2026 on the basis of the final ASML Social Plan (term 1 June 2026 – 1 June 2028). We are happy to think along with you. For advice tailored to your situation, we would be glad to talk to you. No rights can be derived from the content of this page and it may contain inaccuracies.
