(Bloomberg) -- The Dutch government is exploring ways to keep ASML Holding NV — Europe’s most valuable technology company — from expanding outside the Netherlands after the chip-machinery maker raised concerns about the country’s business climate.

The government has formed a task force dubbed “Beethoven” to address ASML’s concerns about its supply of skilled workers, environmental regulations and electricity supplies, people familiar with the situation said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

The efforts stem from talks between ASML and Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s cabinet in which the Veldhoven-based company said it was considering an expansion outside the Netherlands, possibly in France, De Telegraaf reported Wednesday.

It’s unclear whether ASML actually has any concrete plans to expand outside of its headquarters in the Netherlands. But its concerns echo those of other Dutch companies that have left the country in recent years and ratchets up pressure on Geert Wilders and his Freedom Party after his surprise election victory last year. Wilders, who has yet to form a government, campaigned on an anti-immigration platform.

 

“We have to come to the conclusion that we can grow responsibly in the Netherlands. And we have not yet drawn that conclusion,” ASML Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink said at a technology conference on Wednesday, Dutch press agency ANP reported. He added that he plans to speak with Rutte. 

The decision could fall on Christophe Fouquet, a French national, who will take over the company when Wennink retires in April.

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A government spokesperson said the cabinet has regular contact with companies about the interests of Dutch society, the economy and employment, and declined to comment further. 

The Netherlands has lost consumer goods behemoth Unilever Plc and oil giant Shell Plc when the two companies relocated their headquarters to the UK. The government said Shell’s decision in 2021 left it “unpleasantly surprised.” 

The government’s efforts also underscore how much political power ASML possesses, as the only company in the world that makes the sophisticated lithography machines that are critical to producing the most advanced semiconductors. Its machinery has landed it at the center of a global fight for chip dominance and US efforts to keep advanced technologies out of the hands of the Chinese government.

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Government proposals to curb the inflow of foreign students and shrink a tax break that attracted expatriates to the country have drawn the ire of several companies, including ASML, that argue they will impact the long-term competitiveness of the Netherlands.

About 40% of ASML’s employees come from outside of the Netherlands, and the company has said there aren’t enough local workers to meet its needs. 

--With assistance from William Horobin.

(Updates with details throughout.)

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