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German union on VW: 4-day week 'possible', will think about all options

Germany's largest trade union, which sits on Volkswagen's supervisory board, said on Thursday it will leave no stone unturned in coming up with options to the carmaker's dangers of plant closures, with a. fourday week as one alternative.

Volkswagen said on Monday it was considering. taking the extraordinary step of closing factories in Germany. and ending job warranties at six of its plants in a drive to. deepen a 10 billion euro ($ 11 billion) cost-cutting strategy.

Asked if the union would think about a four-day week as an. alternative option, Christiane Benner, chair of IG Metall. nationwide, said it was imaginable. We will leave no concept. undiscovered, she said.

Still, it was impossible to set out comprehensive proposals. without more info on what services the business was. proposing, she added.

We need forward-thinking ideas on where capacity can be. discovered, Benner stated. VW has actually made it through tight spots. in the past.

Thorsten Groeger, head of IG Metall for the Lower Saxony. region where Volkswagen is based, said contracts struck between. the company and unions throughout previous crises were designed. specifically to get the carmaker through tight spots. and should not be tossed overboard in this one.

As part of another cost-cutting drive, board member Peter. Hartz agreed with unions under then CEO Ferdinand Piech and the. works council to introduce a four-day week of 28.8 hours from. 1994 onwards, a 20% decrease in working time with a smaller sized cut. in pay.

Commonly viewed as an ingenious model to conserve 30,000 jobs at. its 6 German plants, the two-year contract was adapted in. subsequent years up until management decided in 2006 it was harming. competitiveness and moved far from it.

Volkswagen executives stated on Wednesday at a jam-packed personnel. conference in Wolfsburg that it has maybe one, 2 years to turn. its main cars and truck brand around to survive electrification.

(source: Reuters)