Skip to main content

ASML made record $11.5 billion profit in 2025 thanks to AI-driven demand, plans to cut 1,700 jobs

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch semiconductor chip machine maker ASML recorded a record net profit of 9.6 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in 2025 on sales of 32.7 billion euros fueled by AI-driven demand, the company reported Wednesday as it also announced plans to slash its workforce by about 1,700, about 4% of its workforce.

The growth comes despite Dutch government restrictions on exports of machines that can be used to make chips that can be integrated into weapons systems. The measures, initially announced in 2023 and later expanded, are seen as part of a U.S. policy that aims at limiting China’s access to such technology.

“In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand. This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake,” ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said in a statement.

In a message to employees, the company said it was cutting jobs in order to become more streamlined and efficient. It said ASML was “choosing to make these changes at a moment of strength for the company. Improving our processes and systems will allow us to innovate more and innovate better, generating further responsible growth for ASML and our stakeholders.”

The job cuts are intended to sharpen ASML’s focus on engineering and innovation by streamlining the company’s technology and IT departments, the message said.

The company said it expects 2026 to be “another growth year for ASML’s business” driven by sales of its extreme ultraviolet lithography systems.

Australian watchdog files legal action against Telegram, saying it failed to remove violent content

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s online safety watchdog has filed legal action against messaging app Telegram, saying the platform failed to remove extremist content including videos of white supremacist mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and the New Zealand city of Christchurch as well as Islamic State group beheadings. The United Arab Emirates-based app, which reports having 1 billion users worldwide, faces a fine of up to 54.6 million Australian dollars ($38 million) if convicted in the Australian Federal Court for “alleged failure to detect and remove pro-terror material,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Thursday. The civil action is a test of Australia's 2021 law requiring tech platforms to work to keep illegal and pro-terrorism material off their networks. Telegram denied the claims. “We reject these allegations and will contest them in court,” a spokesperson said in a written statement sent on Telegram.
Read Next Story