In Germany it's common for larger, well performing companies to retire older, less productive employees by way of 'Abfindungsprogramm' - programs that offer the

In Germany it's common for larger, well performing companies to retire older, less productive employees by way of 'Abfindungsprogramm' - programs that offer these employees generous monetary compensation (up to ~2-5 annual salary) in exchange for them retiring early. I know of four people who took such an offer.