I stumbled across this article in the IHT in which several writers espoused upon the varying ways which firms in the US and Europe are inclined to reduce their employee-related expenses (salaries, wages, etc.) during difficult economic times. In Europe, the trend is to reduce hours, perhaps have brief furloughs, but retain the workers as employees of the company. In the US, companies are more likely to have permanent layoffs in which the position itself is eliminated and the worker has little or no chance of re-employment with his former employer.
I recently had a discussion with an Italian friend about this topic. American firms are laser-focused on the bottom line and look at this issue in purely economic terms. Though all companies say they value their employees, the truth is that any employee, or work group, or even division - is strictly a line item expense on the balance sheet. Under tight economic pressure, American firms have little hesitation about doing whatever it takes to reduce costs, whether it's finding a new office supply vendor, changing internet service providers, or cutting positions. In their view, the company isn't terminating an employee, it's eliminating an unnecessary position (and associated costs). The human being filling that position receives nary an afterthought save for a few wistful reminiscences from former colleagues.
Surely there are notable exceptions on either side, but there seems to be some form of social contract that is part of the fabric of European life. Citizens there pay more in taxes, and perhaps put up with greater bureaucracy and silly rules, but have a far greater social safety net in return.
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