Would fast firing even be possible with long-term contracts? Firing fast isn't something that is done for the sake of saving money. It is done for the sake of avoiding the damaging effects of keeping someone on the team that hurts the productivity of the other team members.
One year is a long time to have someone on a team that turns out to be a wrong hire. You normally figure out that someone isn't working out within the first 1-3 months. I've made a wrong hire before and it impacted the work of 5 other people. I and any other manager has an obligation to get rid of that one person if they are having a net negative effect on the work of others. To do otherwise would be a failure in my responsibilities to others on the team.
It's not like a manager can just "bench" an employee that isn't working out for them.
What would make sense, especially in a market where there is a crunch for talent is a guarantee from the company that if it doesn't work out, that the applicant, would get 1-2 months salary after being cut to look for another place to work.
(Also, to the person who down voted me: This is HN, not Reddit. You don't down vote because you disagree with what was said. You down vote them because their detracting from the conversation, such as trolling.)
I'm a hockey fan. Specifically the Montreal Canadiens. There's a guy on that team right now that makes 8MM/year and the whole team has a 55MM cap they can spend on their "employees".
He's 8 days away from not having scored a single goal in an entire calendar year.
And his contract is for 2 more years.
And you know what? The team is still going to pay him. Because that was the contract that was signed. If you think having a software guy around for a year when he wasn't a great hire is a long time what about having someone around for 5+ years that not only isn't any good but (due to the cap) actively hinders the team's ability to get anyone better to replace him.
And yet the sports world seems to get along just fine this way.
Would fast firing even be possible with long-term contracts? Firing fast isn't something that is done for the sake of saving money. It is done for the sake of avoiding the damaging effects of keeping someone on the team that hurts the productivity of the other team members.