Google, Amazon face difficulties laying off workers in Europe, Bloomberg report

U.S. tech companies are struggling to reduce headcount in Europe, Benoit Berthelot, Aggi Cantrill, and Davey Alba of Bloomberg reports. In the U.S., companies can let go of thousands of workers within months. In Europe, however, mass layoffs have stalled due to labor protections that make it virtually impossible to dismiss employees in certain countries without prior consultations with employee interest groups. This has left many tech workers in limbo, unsure if they’ll be affected by negotiations that could drag on. In France, for example, Alphabet (GOOG;GOOGL) is in talks to reduce headcount through voluntary departures, planning to offer severance packages hoping to convince enough workers to leave, people familiar with the matter said. Amazon (AMZN) has employed a similar tactic in France, offering as much as one year’s pay to departing employees. Reference Link