France: highest court’s judgment makes way for easier layoffs

French companies could soon be able to proceed to mass layoffs much more easily. A few days ago, the Cour de Cassation, which is the final Court of Appeal in France, decided that it was legal for a company to layoff for economic reasons even if problems are not there yet but just expected. In other words, companies don’t have to wait to be in trouble to get rid of their employees. (Ref 0638)
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The Cour de Cassation had to decide whether or not the French Yellow Pages company had broken the law by sacking employees while it was earning money. The company had actually asked 930 employees to either accept a lower salary, or leave. More than a hundred employees had refused this pay decrease. They were thus sacked for economic reasons (which, in France, is still more interesting than being dismissed). Many of these employees decided to take the company to court. Two different rulings were

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