Google and Amazon discover it's much harder to lay off workers across Europe than the US 

Workers protest outside Google London HQ over the "appalling treatment and union busting" of staff facing redundancies.

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 employment protection laws that make it virtually impossible to dismiss people in some countries, without prior consultations with employee interest groups.

In Ireland, where the tech giants employ tens of thousands of people, laying off people is also not as straightforward as the US head offices appear to have once believed.

In France, Google parent Alphabet is currently in talks to reduce headcount through voluntary departures, offering severance packages that it hopes are generous enough to get workers to leave. 

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. 

Both in France and Germany, where employment 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.

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, Google offices in Germany and France will be some of the last locations to be affected by the cuts, if even at all.

When reached for comment, Google acknowledged the negotiations, and added that it was not planning on implementing layoffs in Romania, Greece, or Austria.

“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 said in response to questions from Bloomberg.

Paris talks

In Paris, where Google has around 1,600 employees, a works council is in talks with the company over how many employees — and what types — will be included in a voluntary collective departure plan. 

A resolution could still be weeks away, and in the meantime, things will continue as usual. According to an employee who requested anonymity, management made it clear that nobody would be forced out.

By contrast, in the UK, where employment 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,” Mr Waley said, referring to the ongoing bargaining process.

The same is true in Dublin, where unions claim that Google is planning to oust 240 employees, and in Zurich, where unions anticipate that the number of layoffs will be about 200. 

According to Central Bank of Ireland calculations, around 2,310 jobs potentially could be lost in Ireland based on the global headcount reductions announced by the US information tech giants, including Twitter, Facebook-owner Meta, and Google, and Microsoft, by the end of February. 

Bloomberg. Additional reporting Irish Examiner