Depends on the jurisdiction, needless to say. I've interviewed in London, say.

"At-will", he says to the expat to Finland. I wish. It's nearly impossible for me, or any FTE I know here, to get fired. (To be fair, I have never to my knowledge been considered 'a bad hire' by anyone except Home Depot.)

But in fact even in at-will situations, firing aversion seems to be a real and expensive issue that all kinds of managers in organizations face [1] [2].

So, in one sense I agree, bad hires are existential threats "only" because we don't fire them fast enough. On the other hand, have you ever had to fire someone yourself? Try it. It's heart-wrenching, even to a heartless utility monster like yours truly.

[1]: https://www.econlib.org/archives/2012/06/firing_aversion_2.h...

[2]: https://www.econlib.org/firing-and-the-left/

I've never had to fire a bad employee. So every time has been awful. But I would have gleefully fired the bad ones had I the authority to do so. :)