Google and Amazon Struggle to Lay Off Workers in Europe Due to Labor Laws

Post by reacharavindh » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 2:43 PM UTC

deserialized wrote: post #28

TexanFeller wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong worker protections are a major reason that big tech and many other industries have a much smaller presence in Europe and pay far less to Europeans. You're worth less if you might be absent on parental leave for a year at a time. You're higher risk to hire if you can't be fired easily etc. Protections have a cost. My friends that moved to UK/Europe get half their former salary and have much higher living expens…

Maybe if you're from FAANG land. I took 10k cut (90k to 80k) from my salary leaving Seattle but gained a union, 20 more days of vacation, a 8% holiday bonus, 90% cheaper insurance, and 500$ less in rent per month in Amsterdam

Post by aix1 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 2:50 PM UTC

regularjack wrote: post #10

nostrademons wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They level out both the upside and the downside. If you can never fire people, you're going to be very very cautious about who you hire in the first place. That makes it much harder to get companies into a bidding war that'll actually raise your wages. I've had a few European teammates, and they usually come to the U.S. because they can make 3-5x what they could in Europe. You'll see that a lot in HN comments, where…

You're assuming that the differences in wages between US and Europe are solely due to labor laws, which is quite a stretch, in my opinion.

Post by hsjqllzlfkf » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 3:20 PM UTC

TechBro8615 wrote: post #17

hsjqllzlfkf wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's related, maybe it's due to the fact that the cost of almost everything in the US is higher. There's many factors in this conversation

So companies just pay you out of the goodness of their heart because you need the money?

Post by deafpolygon » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 3:27 PM UTC

deserialized wrote: post #28

TexanFeller wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong worker protections are a major reason that big tech and many other industries have a much smaller presence in Europe and pay far less to Europeans. You're worth less if you might be absent on parental leave for a year at a time. You're higher risk to hire if you can't be fired easily etc. Protections have a cost. My friends that moved to UK/Europe get half their former salary and have much higher living expens…

Maybe if you're from FAANG land. I took 10k cut (90k to 80k) from my salary leaving Seattle but gained a union, 20 more days of vacation, a 8% holiday bonus, 90% cheaper insurance, and 500$ less in rent per month in Amsterdam

Post by aix1 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 3:49 PM UTC

nostrademons wrote: post #38

mrunkel wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cost of Living is much higher in Switzerland.

Cost of living is usually higher in areas with higher wages, because it means that residents have more money to spend on living.