Programming

Hardware companies have much deeper pockets because the initial investment for hardware design and manufacturing is much higher than software. This also helps them keep their profits because new companies can't enter the industry and compete as easily.

I also realized that I didn't mention the elephant in the room, selection bias. US companies in Europe are those who have already "made it" in their domestic market and are looking to expand globally, of course they'll bring money that Arnes Webbyrå AB doesn't have. I follow CS industry discussions that naturally end up talking about the US a lot, and there are stories about how retrenched developers with experience had to accept terrible wages like $30k a year with all of the lack of safety nets that living in the US comes with. Those positions exist, but they don't hire foreigners, so we never hear about them.

But I agree with you that a high minimum wage also reduces how much a company can pay its top employees, because their expenses on lower-paid employees like customer support and janitors will have to be balanced out somehow.