US tech companies have been laying off hundreds of thousands of employees, but they may be meeting their match in EU labor laws.
The EU is known for protecting consumers, individuals, and employees more than the US. According to The Boston Globe, Big Tech is struggling to reduce its headcount as a result of labor laws that require companies to consult with employee interest groups before letting personnel go.
As a result, Google and Amazon are resorting to offering massive incentives in an effort to get employees to leave voluntarily. For example, Amazon is reportedly offering some senior managers up to a year’s pay if they will leave the company. Google is similarly offering generous severance packages.
‘’We have been working carefully and individually through each country where reductions are taking place to fully adhere to local legal requirements, which vary per location, are complex, and take time,’’ a Google spokesperson told Bloomberg.
Interestingly, seeing US tech companies struggle to deal with EU labor laws is causing US workers to take note and realize how much potential bargaining power they may have.
“People have realized the way things happen in the US versus France and Germany,” says Parul Koul, executive chair of the Alphabet Workers Union.
“It is inspiring for people in the US to see things are different in other places — it’s a blueprint for what people can fight for,” they added.
