Silicon Valley’s tech giants have continued laying off staff. As many as 570 tech companies including Google, Meta, Amazon have issued pink slips to 1,68,918 employees in 2023 alone. However, they don’t seem to be putting a brake on layoffs anytime soon. While Google and Amazon have already fired several employees in some regions, both companies are struggling to let people go in European countries, reported Bloomberg.
After announcing massive job cuts, big US tech companies are now looking to further bring down their headcount in Europe. Here, mass layoffs have stalled due to labor protections that make it virtually impossible to sack people in some countries without prior consultations with employee interest groups.
As per the law, “companies are legally required to consult with these councils before executing layoffs, which involves a potentially time-consuming process of data collection, discussions, and the option of appealing.” In France and Germany, Google is seeking help from these groups to resolve the layoffs soon.
As per the report, in France, Google’s parent company Alphabet has asked employees to resign voluntarily and get good severance packages in return.
The report further reveals that Amazon is offering a severance package of one-year pay to some senior managers with 5-8 years of experience if they resign voluntarily. The company will also offer “leave to departing employees so their shares can vest and be paid out as bonuses”.
In Germany, Amazon is firing employees who are on their probationary periods and offering them an option to resign voluntarily.
The report cited a Google spokesperson saying, “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.”
Apart from this, an estimated 500 out of 8,000 Google employees will have to leave in the UK where labor protections are not as stringent. Additionally, Google is also looking at sacking a few employees in Dublin and in Zurich, where unions said the number of layoffs affects more than 200 people, the Bloomberg report said.
Read all the Latest Business News here
Comments
0 comment