German employers, including figures like BDA president Rainer Dulger, Nikolas Stihl, and Martin Brudermüller, are advocating for a shift from the statutory eight-hour workday to a more flexible weekly maximum. This move, they argue, is crucial to reduce labor costs and safeguard jobs, especially as Germany faces economic challenges. The current law allows for an eight-hour day, extendable to ten with compensatory time, while the EU directive uses a 48-hour weekly reference. A move to a weekly cap would make worker protection more dependent on sectoral tariff agreements, like the 35-hour norm in metal and auto industries.
Prominent managers, economists, and entrepreneurs are calling for a return to a 40-hour work week in industry without pay adjustments, warning that Germany risks losing competitiveness and facing mass factory closures. Major companies like Volkswagen are considering significant job cuts (up to 100,000 globally), and Mercedes is delaying bonus payments and negotiating longer hours without compensation due to halved profits. Lars Brzoska, CEO of Jungheinrich, emphasized the need to increase productivity, stating, "We must return to the 40-hour work week in industry, without pay adjustments... If we continue like this, we will fail, and in the end, nobody will have a job."
High labor costs are a significant concern, with German unit labor costs 22% above the average of 27 comparable countries in 2024, and the average hourly wage in industry at $45, rising to $49.50 in manufacturing. Economists like Clemens Fuest of the Ifo Institute and Michael Hüther of the IW Institute support longer working hours, with Hüther even suggesting a 42-hour week. Chancellor Friedrich Merz noted that Germans work 200 fewer hours annually than Swiss workers, implying a need for increased work hours. Unions, including DGB and IG Metall, strongly oppose these changes, fearing they could legalize 13-hour shifts, increase accident and health risks, and lead to job losses if the additional production doesn't find a market. They argue that the difficult situation is a result of management mistakes, not a need for employees to work more for the same pay.
