Global tech giants slashed tens of thousands of specialist technical roles in 2022, flooding the global market with previously hard-to-find expertise from around the world. But before you drink from the overflowing talent pool, experts warn, you’ll need to understand your legal obligations.
It’s a point that some observers worry has been lost on the likes of Elon Musk, whose weeks-long Twitter spring clean last year sent thousands of staff packing, kicked off a flurry of wrongful-termination lawsuits, and saw thousands of workers take severance packages rather than agree to Musk’s demands of working “long hours at high intensity”.
Musk should have read up on European employment law before he started firing employees by email, and spoken with unions before he demanded uncompensated overtime, according to Palle Hoffstein, a union representative and Swedish video-game designer with Rainbow Six publisher Massive Entertainment – whose recent twitter thread highlighted just how messy the situation could become for Twitter.
Dismissing employees may be straightforward in some jurisdictions, Hoffstein pointed out, but in others it requires employers to demonstrate a long period of non-compliance with corporate rules, potentially including steps such as written warnings, negotiated compensation, governmental approvals, and arbitration.
“Elon has taken over a global company and is acting like it is a purely American entity,” Hoffstein said.
Twitter is just one of a string of...
US President Donald Trump made a series of inaccurate or exaggerated claims during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, although he largely stuck to a prepared script. Fro...