Google and Amazon Struggle to Lay Off Workers in Europe

tech.hindustantimes.com:

After announcing the largest rounds of layoffs in their history, US big tech companies are now learning how difficult it is to reduce headcount in Europe.

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.

This has left thousands of tech workers in limbo, unsure about whether they'll be affected by negotiations that can drag on indefinitely.

In France, Google parent Alphabet Inc. is currently in talks to reduce headcount through voluntary departures, offering severance packages that it hopes are generous enough to get workers to leave, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the information isn't public. Amazon has tried to get some senior managers there to resign by dangling as much as one year's pay and has granted leave to departing employees so their shares can vest and be paid out as bonuses, one person with knowledge of the situation said.

Both in France and Germany, where labor laws are among the strongest in the EU, Google is currently in negotiations with works councils — company-specific groups whose elected employee representatives negotiate with management about workforce issues, according to a person familiar with the matter. By law, companies are required to bargain with these councils before implementing layoffs — a sometimes lengthy process that includes information gathering, negotiations and the possibility of recourse.

Because of these requirements, the person said,