AFAICT it’s because the employment terms in Europe are, and I’m paraphrasing, “they are your dependent for life, they must kill one of your loved ones for you to fire them, and even then they get 36 months severance and an all expenses paid trip to Disneyland.”

I dont know how it works in the EU, but I do know blue collar jobs are not being filled by the younger generation. I work on boilers, you need a special license, and I am one of the youngest on the team. Everyone is going to be retiring, and then all the knowledge will disappear with them.