ABSTRACT
Historically, U.S. employers have had the right to hire and fire at will. Adjustment to downturns has been accomplished largely through layoffs, rather than through reductions in average hours per worker or other alternatives to layoffs. In contrast, in Germany, as in most Western European countries, workers historically have enjoyed strong job rights, including the right to advance notice of layoff and the right to severance pay or to negotiations over compensation for layoff.
