Curiosidade do dia

"For decades Europe did fine with its incremental-but-likely-topay-off innovation model. Century-old firms show there is still money to be made in developing a slightly better tyre or a faster train. But in recent years the rewards flowing to companies making bold bets have ballooned. Tech firms that pursued disruptive innovation have turned into trillion-dollar behemoths. None of them is in Europe. Nvidia, an American chipmaker, is worth more than the European Union's 20 biggest listed firms combined. Some of that may be a bubble whose popping may splatter American business. But lacking companies in such superstar sectors is one reason why output per hour worked by Europeans has slumped in comparison with America in recent decades." 

Trecho retirado de "How to crush innovation" publicado na revista The Economist do passado dia 4 de Outubro.

O artigo compara as diferenças entre a forma como empresas americanas e europeias lidam com despedimentos e reestruturações. Nos Estados Unidos, o processo é rápido, directo e com menor protecção social; já na Europa, é complexo, mediado por sindicatos, regulamentos e custos elevados. Essa dificuldade de despedir trabalhadores na Europa, apesar de parecer protectora, tem implicações negativas: reduz a atractividade de investimentos arriscados, dificulta a inovação e torna as empresas menos competitivas face às americanas.

""When firing is costly, as it is in most of Europe, employers are reluctant to invest in risky ventures," says Olivier Coste, a former EU official turned tech entrepreneur. Alongside Yann Coatanlem, another entrepreneur and economist, they have tracked the (often opaque) costs of corporate restructurings. An American firm shedding workers will incur costs equivalent to paying those sacked for seven months and be done with it. In Germany costs amount to 31 months of wages for each employee let go; in France 38 months. Beyond severance pay and sops to keep unions happy, the biggest expense is firms keeping unproductive workers on their books they would rather be rid of. New investments are delayed for years as dismissed employees are gradually replaced. American firms quickly pivot to new moon-shot opportunities; Europeans ones are stuck in the same old mire as they haggle with unions, due often to laws devised nearly a century ago."

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