There are a few major differences which come into play between some EU countries (e.g. Germany, France) and the US. These amount to a fairly good justification why US layoffs are always going to come first. The reasons include:
German employees have CONTRACTS, backed by unions and ultimately laws. You simply can't terminate anyone easily without six months' notice. Imagine the productivity of that person during SIX MONTHS prior to their final day? So German companies try to avoid going down that path at all.
The US, at least in the majority of states, is the exact opposite. So-called "right to work" states are named after the dull edge of a double-edged sword. The shiny, sharp edge is the legal ability for an employer to terminate any employee whenever they wish. Welcome to the free market.
Another factor is where the "keep the lights on" employees are based. The vast majority are in Germany. Those are the employees with specific core knowledge, often related to how industry sectors as wholes operate and are employed by the company to make sure they can still gather and process revenue from repeating customers (and, in the case of sales, potential high-value new customers).
Thought this was a good post worthy of its own thread. OP by @XYEcdir-1bve