Industrial group Siemens AG won't move 2,000 phone assembly jobs from northwest Germany to lower-wage Hungary

Industrial group Siemens AG won't move 2,000 phone assembly jobs from northwest Germany to lower-wage Hungary, now that workers have agreed to lengthen their work week to 40 hours from 35 for no more money, the company said Thursday. The agreement with the IG Metall union specifies that workers at the Bocholt and Kamp-Lintfort facilities must work an average of 1,760 hours a year measured over a two-year period. Excluding vacation and holidays, that amounts to an average 40-hour week, and permits the company to gear up when there's more work and have people work less when it's slow. "The solution for Kamp-Lintfort and Bocholt is a triumph of reason," said Siemens CEO Heinrich von Pierer, who has said the facilities must cut costs or see jobs move east. "Our employee representatives, IG Metall and our company management have show that there are realistic ways to counteract job cuts in Germany." The agreement, struck between the industrial employers' association and IG Metall, takes effect July 1 and guarantees the jobs of the covered workers at the two plants - more than 4,000 in all - who assemble mobile and cordless phones.