The coronavirus pandemic may be global in scale, but its material impact on ordinary workers thus far has varied widely from one country to another — as has the relief offered by national governments when it comes to the lost wages and potential layoffs. As the New York Times observed earlier this week:

In a Queens apartment, a laid-off busboy has no idea if he will make next month’s rent or feed his family. An out-of-work waitress in Amsterdam, though, can count on the government to cover 90 percent of her wages. As a Malaysian florist anxiously burns through her savings, cafe owners in Brussels receive about $4,300 to make up for lost revenue.

With many workplaces shut down and normal economic activity grinding to a halt, the threat of mass layoffs and unprecedented unemployment across the globe cannot be overstated. From factories to restaurants, from offices to day-care centers, regular working rhythms are being disrupted, and ordinary workers are staying at home to slow the virus’s spread — raising the possibility that companies will simply cut their employees off to fend for themselves.