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A photo of the Mercedes-Benz factory in Hungary, a German automobile manufacturer, to help understand the article. Photo by EPA Yonhap News<\/p>\n
\t\t\t According to the UK Financial Times (FT) on September 2 (local time), executives at major German manufacturers, including automobile maker Mercedes-Benz and tool manufacturer Stihl, have called for a shift back to the 40-hour workweek without any wage increases. With these demands now public, the debate over working hours has reignited. Martin Brudermueller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Mercedes-Benz, said in a recent interview with Handelsblatt, “Germany’s labor costs are too expensive by international standards, and we have lost our productivity advantages compared to major competitor countries,” adding, “We must seriously consider a return to the 40-hour workweek.”<\/p>\n The labor cost per hour in German manufacturing is 49.5 euros (about 78,000 won), the highest in the European Union (EU). The EU average is 33.7 euros (about 53,000 won), making Germany’s labor cost 47% higher. Germany has so far absorbed these high labor costs thanks to skilled labor, clusters of industrial complexes, and a stable political environment. However, growing cost differentials are weakening this calculation. The think tank IMK, supported by German labor unions, analyzed that “although German workers are more productive than those in Eastern Europe, labor costs have been rising faster than productivity, leading to an upward trend in unit labor costs.”<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t In contrast, industrial output has dropped by over 15% since its peak at the end of 2017. This is attributed independently to rising energy prices, intensified competition with China, U.S. tariffs, and the ongoing shift to electric vehicles. Approximately 12,000 to 15,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared each month, leaving an estimated 6.5 million employed in the sector. According to the Federal Statistical Office, as of the end of June, the number of workers in the automobile industry was 691,500\u2014a decrease of 42,300, or 5.8%, over the past year.<\/p>\n The 35-hour workweek was introduced following a large-scale strike by West German metalworkers in 1984, and became established in manufacturing over the subsequent decade. Economists who support returning to the 40-hour week argue that increasing working hours will lower unit labor costs, thereby safeguarding both manufacturing competitiveness and jobs.<\/p>\n Martin Werding, a member of the German Council of Economic Experts, diagnosed, “It will be difficult to overcome this current structural crisis by merely relying on the existing method of utilizing temporary workers in response to economic fluctuations.” Markus Berret, Global Head of consulting firm Roland Berger, warned, “The difference in labor costs can reach three to four times depending on the competitor country,” adding, “The number of people working in German manufacturing could fall below 5 million in the future.”<\/p>\n \t Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor. Photo by Reuters-Yonhap News Agency<\/p>\n
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