[flyinRyan]

>Europe's ridiculous labor regulations do more to strangle startups in the crib than almost anything else.

That's your opinion. A different opinion might be that Europe simply lacks a good "startup hub" like PG talks about.

The fact is, it depends on where you're talking about. In Switzerland and the UK you can certainly fire people if you want/need to. You just have to give them notice of a few weeks (or months in Switzerland). This isn't "ridiculous" and the employee is held to the same standard.

Unlike the US where the power difference between employer and employee is clearly seen with the expected two week notice of employees and 0-minute notice expected of employers.