That's not what he is talking about. You can also always quit your job in Germany. He is talking about payments that are conditional upon you staying at the co

That's not what he is talking about. You can also always quit your job in Germany. He is talking about payments that are conditional upon you staying at the company for a certain amount of time. Relocation bonuses and stock option vesting are a very common type. If the bonus is high enough, it makes it very unattractive to quit. He is exaggerating though.