Ford Rival Toyota Ponders Implementing Four Day Workweek

July 27, 2024 3:03 am

In recent years, a handful of studies have found that four day workweeks can lead to increased productivity, not to mention improved employee morale. Despite this, many companies continue to cling to the ages-old five-day workweek, regardless. However, Ford has explored the idea of moving to a four-day workweek in the past, and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has done precisely the same thing. Now, one of Ford’s rivals – Toyota – is apparently thinking about it, too.

According to Automotive News, Toyota is mulling the idea of implementing a four-day work week as it continues to negotiate with its Japanese labor union, and that concept is also one component of broader discussions revolving around ways to streamline the automaker’s operations for the modern era. These discussions stem from Toyota CEO Koji Sato, who ordered a general review of work practices this past spring, fresh off a record year of sales and production numbers that left workers and suppliers drained.

“Existing workloads should be reduced for the time being,” Sato said in May. “We should question whether a particular work is necessary or not. We might need to stop certain types.” Along with other changes, the four-day workweek is one of several ideas being considered that aim to “develop systems and mechanisms to improve the working environment, aiming to create a workplace where everyone can feel a sense of growth,” a Toyota spokesperson said. If approved, the four-day work week could be implemented by the end of 2024, though it also means workers would have to log more hours per day to compensate.

Back in June 2022, Ford announced that it was monitoring an experiment being conducted by the New Zealand-based non-profit 4-Day Week Global, in which 3,300 workers at 70 companies in the UK received an extra day off each week for the next six months. Last June, the UAW was also seeking a four-day work week for its own employees as part of its contract negotiations with Ford, but it ultimately lost that battle.

We’ll have more on everything Ford’s competition is doing soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.

By Brett Foote

Brett's lost track of all the Fords he's owned over the years and how much he's spent modifying them, but his current money pits include an S550 Mustang and 13th gen F-150.