Officials from Volkswagen and Germany's IG Metall trade union worked to create 5,000 new jobs. They talked of more flexible rules in Germany's regulated labor market to increase production and cut costs. The program would give about 5,000 workers the same monthly pay as under the current contract but without a standard workweek or overtime pay.
See "Volkswagen, IG Metall Union Talk", The New York Times, August 26, 2001