Hiring in the U.S. or in France? Here's what you need to know

Episode Summary
An American friend of mine moved to France, got his first paycheck, and blew through it in about two weeks. That small, funny mistake is the doorway into something much bigger: why hiring works nothing alike on the two sides of the Atlantic. In this episode I get into why a French company often hires one person where an American company hires three, why it's faster and cheaper up front to hire in the US, and the surprising decision, made back in 1945, that still shows up in every French paycheck today. Whether you're expanding west or east, you'll come away seeing your next hire a little differently.

In This Episode

• Why my American friend's first French paycheck wrecked his budget, and the much bigger difference hiding behind it.
• The real reason it's faster to hire in the US than in France, and why it's only half about the money.
• The 1945 decision that means nearly half the cost of a French hire never reaches the worker, and why that's not the robbery it sounds like.

Sources & Links

• Tax burden on labor, France vs. the US (OECD data): https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/global/tax-burden-on-labor-oecd-2024/
• French salaries (INSEE): https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8657156
• US employer health insurance costs (KFF, 2024): https://www.kff.org/health-costs/2024-employer-health-benefits-survey/

About Crossing the Atlantic
Crossing the Atlantic is a podcast about how history shapes culture, and how culture shapes business, between the US and Europe. Host Christina Rebuffet-Broadus is an American who has spent 20+ years living and building businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. She helps US companies break into Europe and European companies break into the US, from getting the positioning right to closing real deals. New episodes every other week.

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