In the US, companies can announce widespread job cuts and let go of hundreds if not thousands of workers within months — and many have. Meanwhile, in Europe, mass layoffs among tech companies have stalled because of labor protections that make it virtually impossible to dismiss people in some countries without prior consultations with employee interest groups.
When reached for comment, Google acknowledged the negotiations, and added that it was not planning on implementing layoffs in Romania, Greece or Austria. By contrast, in the UK, where labor protections are not as stringent, an estimated 500 out of 8,000 Googlers will have to leave, according to Unite the Union representative Matthew Waley — a 6% redundancy rate consistent with the firm’s global target. Talks with the works council will result in confidential severance packages, but the number of departures is not up for negotiation. “They are trying to do the legal minimum,” Waley said, referring to the ongoing bargaining process.
While the different standards of treatment have not created friction among Google employees spread around the world, “people have realized the way things happen in the US versus France and Germany” are different, says Parul Koul, executive chair of the Alphabet Workers Union and a software engineer at Google based in New York.
At Amazon France, with about 1,500 office employees in Paris, some senior managers with between 5 and 8 years of experience were offered up to a year’s pay to leave, according to a person familiar. The person said that departing employees were allowed to stay on so-called “gardening leave” until May, when Amazon shares vest and are paid out as bonuses.