The U.S. and Europe are scrambling to shield workers from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. But while the U.S. is trying to soften the blow for millions who have already lost jobs, Europe is taking a different approach: stopping people from getting fired in the first place.

In the past days, governments across the continent have deployed new programs—or extended existing ones—to subsidize the wages of idled workers, allowing employers to keep them in their jobs even if there is nothing for them to do.

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