Amazon is one tech company that is reportedly tempting European employees into “voluntary resignation” as they face stern European labour laws.

Mass layoffs among tech companies – which began late last year – are stalling on the continent due to labour protection laws which make it “virtually impossible” to terminate staff in certain countries without first consulting with employee interest groups, said a report by Bloomberg.

The news comes after Google recently announced it would cut six per cent of its global workforce. At the time, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said: “We’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company.”

Amazon has also committed to axing almost 30,000 roles worldwide in two separate headcount culls. Chief executive Andrew Jassy previously said the cuts were aimed at “making its operations leaner”.

To get around what can be a lengthy and resource-intensive process, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that in France, Google is offering generous redundancy packages to encourage people to leave.

Amazon France is reportedly encouraging some of its senior management to resign by offering them as much as one year’s salary and pay out of any shares held in the company as bonuses.

France and Germany reportedly have some of the strongest employment laws in the EU, leading a Bloomberg source to tell the outlet that these countries would be some of the last locations to be affected by the companies' job cuts, if at all.

Commenting on the matter, a Google spokesperson told Bloomberg: “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."

Share Story: