I live in a country that does not have at-will employment. I can quit at any time with one months notice (or, at the employers discretion, less). A person can be fired for the reasons mdekkers mentioned (bad behaviour, bad performance, lack of money) but there is a procedure to go through (eg for bad performance, you must give warnings first). It works well for employees, who don’t have to worry about the possibility of an asshole manager going on a firing rampage (as the article states happens in Tesla) and it works well for employers because they can fire when necessary, they just cannot legally abuse it.
> I see no reason an employer shouldn’t have the same freedom
Because its not an equal relationship. Unless the company is very, very small or badly managed, losing an employee or two is much less of a deal for employers than losing their jobs is for the average employee. If the employer really wants rid of the employee for a legitimate reason, they can do so, they just have to jump through a few hoops. If they want to get rid of the person just because, then no, they can’t do that and in my opinion shouldn’t be allowed to either. It encourages an abusive or unfair work environment (work longer/harder/more dangerously or I’ll fire you! for example).
For the average person, losing their job is devistating. For the average company, losing an employee barely registers. Remember, that most employees don’t have the same flexibility and job availability that most of us on HN do, yet the laws still apply the same.