The idea of being able to keep a laptop sounds absurd to me. Of course many European countries have labor laws which make it near impossible to fire someone on the spot.
>Only in very critical jobs they'd walk you out immediately but then you still get the pay.
Presumably you are also still employed, just not given any tasks. I do not think that here in Germany there is any way to immediately fire someone, just because he was working on something critical.
Many companies refuse to do layoffs entirely. Which often means that they have difficulties responding to changes in the environment or need to heavily rely on contractors.
Re: Germany - for sure there is. Aufhebungsvertrag if you as employee agree. Kündigung mit sofortiger Freistellung if you don't agree.
>Aufhebungsvertrag
That is something both sides have to agree on. So it can not be considered "firing".
>Freistellung
You are still employed, just have no tasks assigned to you. Completely different scenario for the employee, who now can look for a new job, while still being paid as if he were employed. Arguably it is even better than being let go, but having to continue working. Definitely anything but a "firing on the spot".