Companies in Europe are much more reluctant to hire precisely because it is so much harder to fire. When I lived in the US, and got offers, the company’s first

Companies in Europe are much more reluctant to hire precisely because it is so much harder to fire. When I lived in the US, and got offers, the company’s first question would be: what’s the earliest you can start? In Europe my experience has been long processes that are dragged out unnecessarily. Hiring is riskier, and therefore slower. There are 2 sides to it of course, on one hand employees are much more protected from losing their jobs, but on the other one innovation and fast access to jobs is also slower. Also, it is not only about firing. Hiring is also slower because of all the paperwork that needs to happen. For example, in Spain you cannot just hire someone. You need to draft out a contract, cover every possible detail related to the work that the person will be doing, etc. it is just slower in general. This brings me back to my min point though: employment at will.