Chipmachinefabrikant ASML believes that the spending cuts on innovation and fundamental research, the tech industry is hard hit. Also warns the company that in the next few years a ‘scream shortage’ will arise to technical staff.
According to ASML ceo Peter Wennink there should be at the upcoming cutbacks, which the cabinet-Rutte are currently in negotiations, not cut back on expenditures to basic research and innovation. Wennink stated last Sunday in the tv programme Buitenhof that substantial cuts in the tech industry in the Netherlands, which, according to the cfo of ASML’s high-level, on term hard hit will be because many of the commercial initiatives based on outcomes of fundamental research.
Wennink called minister-president Rutte on to continue to invest in innovation and furthermore longer to take the time to get the budget deficit to the European norm of 3 percent. The intention of the government to devote additional attention to top sectors, including the Dutch tech industry, is in the eyes of Wennink is a good choice but would still be in concrete policies are to be transformed, a process that costs money.
The ASML-senior executive stated further that in the Netherlands there are insufficient young people a technical training: “There is a terrible shortage of engineers. The number of people that a technical education exam is only half of what we need. Certainly in view of the ageing of the population, the situation dramatically.” According to Wennink must be “nerds again cool to be’ in order to ensure that there are more graduate engineers in the labour market. Also would companies in the tech industry more scholarships can provide the talent to attract.