It was fun while it lasted, but the clock's being turned back on the 35-hour workweek. Pushed by labor unions in Germany and France who hoped it would create jobs, the measure instead jacked up the cost of doing business. Siemens just negotiated a return to a 40-hour week for the 4,000 workers at its two phone plants in Germany. Philips is discussing increasing working hours at its Hamburg semiconductor plant as part of a cost-cutting plan. Automakers DaimlerChrysler and Opel, the German arm of General Motors, and railroad firm Deutsche Bahn are currently negotiating...
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