Wall Street banks have warned that their next wave of hiring in France may be stunted without restrictions on dismissal costs for highly paid traders, a flagship measure that has been left out of a reform package intended to bolster Paris as a financial centre.
Paris has emerged as the main winner among European cities vying to become Europe’s top financial centre post Brexit, and the caps were meant to be part of an “attractiveness bill” discussed in parliament this week. However, they have not been included for now as the French government and lawmakers seek legal workarounds for implementation under the country’s protective labour laws.
US investment banks such as JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America, which have hired or transferred hundreds of people to Paris since Britain left the EU, have led lobbying for the changes in recent months, although French banks would benefit too.