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Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

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Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#11

Post by FirmwareBurner »

askonomm wrote: post #5
devdude1337 wrote: post #3

Freelance developer from Germany here. There is a significant drop in projects and a slowdown in permanent offerings, but no layoff wave like in the US. Demand is still high but due to the current recession most companies delay hiring for now. From my point of view there is also a skill-missmatch in Germany. While firms look for the usual most modern tech stacks, workforce is often conservative, staying years or even…

Most of the remote jobs I see from Germany also hire only those who live in Germany, so it seems to me that Germans don't even want EU citizens, just Germans.

That's in every EU country for tax and social security reasons, they want you to also be a tax resident there because that dicatates your tax, labor laws and employee benefits meaning it's familiar and predictable for the company.

There's no EU wide citizenship, employee regulations and tax liability for employees but are local for each country. They don't want you earning money in one country but spemding it and taxing it in another.

This is where the EU is weaker than the US and will keep missing the mark in software.

Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#13

Post by mvdtnz »

I haven't heard much this year in New Zealand but '21/'22 was pretty bad for Xero and a handful of smaller companies. But overall companies here didn't see the insane 2020 growth of American firms. Hiring has slowed across the board, hugely.

Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#14

Post by askonomm »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #11
askonomm wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the remote jobs I see from Germany also hire only those who live in Germany, so it seems to me that Germans don't even want EU citizens, just Germans.

That's in every EU country for tax and social security reasons, they want you to also be a tax resident there because that dicatates your tax, labor laws and employee benefits meaning it's familiar and predictable for the company. There's no EU wide citizenship, employee regulations and tax liability for employees but are local for each country. They don't want you earning money in one country but spemding it and tax…

You pay income tax based on where you live though. So I can earn money from Germany, but if I live in Estonia, my taxes go to Estonia. Most remote workers I know are set up as LLC's, and they simply invoice their clients for the work, entirely avoiding any tax or social security issues for the employer, since you the employee have to deal with it yourself in your own country.

Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#17

Post by vimy »

FirmwareBurner wrote: post #11
askonomm wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the remote jobs I see from Germany also hire only those who live in Germany, so it seems to me that Germans don't even want EU citizens, just Germans.

That's in every EU country for tax and social security reasons, they want you to also be a tax resident there because that dicatates your tax, labor laws and employee benefits meaning it's familiar and predictable for the company. There's no EU wide citizenship, employee regulations and tax liability for employees but are local for each country. They don't want you earning money in one country but spemding it and tax…

There are rules to deal with this. Lots of French people near the border work in Belgium for example. They are even actively recruited.

Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#18

Post by FirmwareBurner »

askonomm wrote: post #14
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's in every EU country for tax and social security reasons, they want you to also be a tax resident there because that dicatates your tax, labor laws and employee benefits meaning it's familiar and predictable for the company. There's no EU wide citizenship, employee regulations and tax liability for employees but are local for each country. They don't want you earning money in one country but spemding it and tax…

You pay income tax based on where you live though. So I can earn money from Germany, but if I live in Estonia, my taxes go to Estonia. Most remote workers I know are set up as LLC's, and they simply invoice their clients for the work, entirely avoiding any tax or social security issues for the employer, since you the employee have to deal with it yourself in your own country.

Yeah, you can but as LLCs, not as direct employees.

Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#19

Post by gituliar »

askonomm wrote: post #5
devdude1337 wrote: post #3

Freelance developer from Germany here. There is a significant drop in projects and a slowdown in permanent offerings, but no layoff wave like in the US. Demand is still high but due to the current recession most companies delay hiring for now. From my point of view there is also a skill-missmatch in Germany. While firms look for the usual most modern tech stacks, workforce is often conservative, staying years or even…

Most of the remote jobs I see from Germany also hire only those who live in Germany, so it seems to me that Germans don't even want EU citizens, just Germans.

In EU since Jul'23 cross-border remote work is free of extra taxes and similar obligation if done up to 50% abroad. One can come to Germany for 3 days and come back to his country to work for 2 days remotely and spend weekend.

More here https://socialsecurity.belgium.be/en/internationally-active/...

Re: Ask HN: Are tech layoffs happening abroad?

#20

Post by jamil7 »

devdude1337 wrote: post #3

Freelance developer from Germany here. There is a significant drop in projects and a slowdown in permanent offerings, but no layoff wave like in the US. Demand is still high but due to the current recession most companies delay hiring for now. From my point of view there is also a skill-missmatch in Germany. While firms look for the usual most modern tech stacks, workforce is often conservative, staying years or even…

I'm also a freelance developer living in Germany. I've been lucky enough to be on a fairly large, ongoing project for the last year, so I haven't been affected. But new project inquiries/leads have basically dropped to zero for me.

From work, to housing, it feels like the population is in "wait and see" mode.

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