We can’t fire people on the spot but close enough (here in NL). It’s true ish that we can’t motivate people with fear though, we have to actually make them like their jobs, and carefully consider at the right moment whether to extend contracts. Again, not really a hindrance.
The % of tech workers in both the EU and the US that are near any country’s retirement age is so small that I think either you’re kidding or you’re not really trying to make an actual argument at all.
It's not really about motivation. Difficulty of terminating employment can make employees a real liability when you're small if they turn out to be a bad fit.
Bigger businesses can accept it as cost of doing business, but it may break a small business.
Given significantly smaller salaries and the typical 3-6 months probationary period before going full time, I don't think this is much of a risk. If someone turns out to be a 'bad' fit 6 months in, the employee isn't the only thing in need of looking into.