Earlier quoted context omitted.
Actually, they are eliminating 3000 of the 4500 engineering manager positions. However, of those 3000, they are moving 1400 to an engineering position. The article also says that engineers are spending 35% of the time coordinating with their managers and that they want to cut the red tape with this move. Of course, it's hard to tell how much is PR and how much reality. However, if there is substance to it, it would w…
Where do you know the details from? It’s not in the press release. Is that some insider information?
ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
351–360 of 366 posts
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#352Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hungary's Orban has been in power for how long? 16 years and counting? Is Hungary a paragon of growth and strategic planning?
>Is Hungary a paragon of growth and strategic planning? Kinda, yeah. Foreign investors love doing business with dictators due to guaranteed stability versus the political pendulum swinging every 4 years. HEnce why more manufacturing is opening in Hungary. BMW: Opened a new, fully electric vehicle plant in Debrecen in September 2025, with series production of the BMW iX3 starting in late October 2025. Mercedes-Benz: A…
https://gki.hu/language/en/2024/06/18/hungarys-20-years-in-t...
I guess it’s attractive for its low wages? But not because of something Orbán pulled off.
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#353Earlier quoted context omitted.
As an engineering manager (and one who's slowly starting a job hunt) these comments don't make for comfortable reading. What we'll never know from a press release like this is whether this is a change that employees wanted, or one which senior leadership wanted. Sure there are companies where management is overly bloated or inefficient. And maybe I'm just flattering myself by thinking that my teams' lives wouldn't be…
Apparantly ASML had 4500 managers of 16000 employees in the engineering department, and engineers spent a third of their time in meetings. 1500 managers of 14400 employees sounds a lot more normal to me.
For the past year I've only had three direct reports, which would have been too few to keep me occupied if I wasn't also acting tech lead.
IMHO, if you want engineering managers who can occasionally do hands-on things, you probably want a ratio around 6/7:1
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#354Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hungary's Orban has been in power for how long? 16 years and counting? Is Hungary a paragon of growth and strategic planning?
>Is Hungary a paragon of growth and strategic planning? Kinda, yeah. Foreign investors love doing business with dictators due to guaranteed stability versus the political pendulum swinging every 4 years. HEnce why more manufacturing is opening in Hungary. BMW: Opened a new, fully electric vehicle plant in Debrecen in September 2025, with series production of the BMW iX3 starting in late October 2025. Mercedes-Benz: A…
You must be talking about an entirely different Hungary, because the one in the EU is described as "an ailing economy in Europe".
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2025/08/18/hungary...
Academic papers on Hungary's recent history report a clear negative impact of Hungary's illiberal regime.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266731932...
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#355Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who is going to recreate EUV machines faster ASML partnering with China or US recreating ASML machines?
Eminent domain can apply to intellectual property. There is even plenty of US precedent for this in nearly the same circumstances. Then again their need for defensible IP is precisely why ASML would almost certainly never make the partnership you suggest.
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#356Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you sure you know what 'tax evasion' means?
Yes, I am. Are you? Sorry, "tax efficiency" or what the euphemism is that tries to hide whats actually going on. :)
It's definitely a change in behaviour induced by taxation.
Another example in Germany both capital gains and dividends are taxed. Capital gains are (mostly) only taxed when you sell, dividends are taxed straight away. But each year you can get a small amount of dividends tax free. So it's tax efficient to structure your capital returns to first max out that tax free allowance, and take the rest as capital gains.
That's annoying and complicated.
Singapore is simpler and has lower taxes, so I don't bother optimising anything, and just let my decision be guided by whatever makes financial sense, without worrying about taxes. (In my case, I'm investing in accumulating funds that just never pay any dividends, but instead re-invest them straight away. That way I don't have to worry about re-investing dividends manually.)
Another example: when you have a carbon tax one of the intended consequences is for companies and people to change their affairs such that they emit less CO2, thus optimising their tax bill. The system only works when people 'avoid paying their share'.
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#357If I was the EU I'd provide capital for ASML to build a 18A fab in Europe, the way the world is going we need our own capacity here...
ASML doesn't build fabs, they just built one tool for the job. That's like saying you're contracting Milwaukee to build you a house.
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#358Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apparantly ASML had 4500 managers of 16000 employees in the engineering department, and engineers spent a third of their time in meetings. 1500 managers of 14400 employees sounds a lot more normal to me.
At a ratio of 10:1, at least in my experience, there's no time for those managers to be hands on with the work and keeping their engineering skills current. I don't personally feel that's a problem, but reading other comments on this post it seems like many HN readers do have an issue with engineering managers who don't keep their tech skills sharp. For the past year I've only had three direct reports, which would ha…
Personally, my "manager" has about 35 reports and also other duties. Basically as long as everything is going OK I don't have much to do with him. This is a company of 75 people, there are no managers except for two of the four directors. Not quite like ASML :-)
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#359Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is stock performance any indication of a company having too many managers.
It isn't. Stock price just measures investor confidence. Sometimes firing managers leads to more investor confidence. Most of the time it's a crapshoot but it's the best objective indicator we have for comparison.
Re: ASML staffing changes could result in a net reduction of around 1700 positions
#360It's insane to me how the manager culture is. Somehow going from an engineer to a manager is a "promotion"? No, they are equals. Just different people doing different kinds of jobs. There should be two tracks and people should be able to choose. If engineers feel they have to become managers to grow their careers, all you are getting will just be unhappy engineers and bad managers.
IDK, where I am its always been that managers specifically have power over ICs