[leokennis]

Maybe for a CEO I’d understand but being a regular employee and knowing that you could be out of a job and pay at any time, for any arbitrary reason or no reason at all, without being able to do anything about it seems like such a shaky foundation to build your life on...

[holy_city]

That's pretty standard for the United States. On the flipside, it means the employer isn't required to keep employing you no matter what. Most unions will negotiate it (this is why Police go on paid suspensions instead of being fired, it's part of their CBA), but the vast majority of us aren't members of a union. Furthermore if you're terminated without cause, you're eligible for unemployment.

In practice companies don't fire people left and right, and people don't live in constant fear of being terminated if they're providing value to their employer, or their employer isn't toxic.

[maxxxxx]

"people don't live in constant fear of being terminated if they're providing value to their employer,"

That has almost nothing to do with being laid off or not. Most layoffs kill whole departments or divisions and the contribution of the little guy matters not a single bit.