The other angle is that firing people means businesses lose organisational knowledge. Even in relatively low skilled jobs, replacing your workforce means you'll

The other angle is that firing people means businesses lose organisational knowledge. Even in relatively low skilled jobs, replacing your workforce means you'll spend a lot of money on retraining or lost efficiency. Keeping workers on the payroll means you have a much better chance of rehiring your experienced employees. Incidentally the same is true for companies: keeping structurally healthy businesses afloat means society doesn't have to deal with the loss of organisational knowledge. The different approaches taken by the US and Europe might reflect priorities in the respective societies. On the other hand, the US did spin up a payroll program, which seems to just have been rather unsuccessful, with lots of money going to big businesses. So this may just the effect of a less competent government.