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Labor

Mexican billionaire wants to slim down the workweek

By
Ben Geier
Ben Geier
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By
Ben Geier
Ben Geier
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July 21, 2014, 9:43 AM ET
Luminaries Gather For Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helu, one of the world's richest men, smiles during a panel discussion about Latin America at the Clinton Global Initiative September 27, 2007 in New York. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)Photograph by Chris Hondros—Getty Images

Thank God it’s … Wednesday?

That’s what workers would be saying if Carlos Slim had anything to do with it.

The Mexican billionaire thinks that a three-day workweek is preferable to the current five-day structure, according to an article in the Financial Times.

Speaking at a conference in Paraguay, Slim shared his vision for a new work structure, saying that “people are going to have to work for more years, until they are 70 or 75, and just work three days a week – perhaps 11 hours a day.”

Of course, Slim isn’t the first to propose changing the traditional workweek. Online education company Treehouse has a four-day workweek. The state of Utah’s public employees work four 10-hour days a week, to cut down on infrastructure and transportation costs on Fridays.

Slim’s fixed-line phone company in Mexico allows retirement-age employees to continue working four days a week on a full salary.

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