Slim Renews Pushback on Mexico's New 40-Hour Week

Carlos Slim, Chairman, Grupo Carso, has renewed his opposition to Mexico's constitutional reform reducing the standard workweek from 48 to 40 hours by 2030, arguing that higher wages matter more than shorter hours. The reform, published in the Official Gazette on May 1, 2026, requires employers to adjust payroll, shift structures, and electronic time-tracking systems ahead of its first phase in January 2027. 

Carlos Slim, Chairman, Grupo Carso, has renewed his opposition to Mexico's shortened workweek, arguing that higher earnings, not fewer hours, improve workers' quality of life. The comments resurface as the labor overhaul, published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on May 1, 2026, begins its phased rollout toward a 40-hour standard by 2030.

Slim has consistently pushed back against the measure since it was first debated in Congress. "It is better for people to work 48 hours and earn more than to work 40 hours and earn less," says Slim, framing wage growth, rather than shorter shifts, as the priority for improving household income and purchasing power.

Mexico's Congress approved the constitutional reform reducing the maximum workweek from 48 to 40 hours after the Senate backed the measure with 104 votes in favor, sending it to the Chamber of Deputies to finalize a phased transition running through 2030. The rollout is one of the most contested labor reforms in decades, aligning Mexico with regional peers such as Ecuador and Chile and with International Labor Organization standards. Business groups have warned the change could raise costs for small and medium enterprises and pressure hiring in labor-intensive sectors, even as the government maintains that wages and benefits will remain unchanged.

Slim first voiced his opposition publicly during the December 2023 inauguration of the Tulum International Airport and has repeated the position in subsequent public appearances, including annual press conferences held at Fundación Carlos Slim. As an alternative, he has proposed workdays of up to 12 hours over three or four days a week, alongside raising the retirement age to 75, citing longer life expectancy and workers' capacity to remain active later in life. He has also suggested differentiated minimum wages, in which employees working 40 hours receive the base minimum wage and those working the full 48 hours receive a 20% increase.

According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), the workweek will decrease by two hours annually beginning Jan. 1, 2027, moving from 48 hours to 46 in 2027, 44 in 2028, 42 in 2029, and 40 in 2030. The year 2026 is designated as a transition period for companies to adjust schedules, and secondary legislation approved in May requires employers to keep an electronic registry of hours worked and grants employees digital disconnection rights outside working hours.

The debate over Slim's position remains active among employers and labor groups. Supporters of the reform argue that Mexico ranks among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries with the highest average annual working hours, and that shorter, better-compensated schedules could improve productivity and reduce workplace accidents. Critics aligned with Slim's view counter that extending hours while raising pay preserves household income more directly and helps sustain the pension system as life expectancy rises.

As the transition period advances in 2026, companies operating in Mexico are expected to review shift structures, payroll costs, and time-tracking systems ahead of the first mandatory reduction in January 2027. Human resources teams across labor-intensive industries, including manufacturing, retail, and logistics, face the added task of reconciling overtime calculations with the new electronic registry requirement, while multinational employers weigh how the phased schedule interacts with existing collective bargaining agreements. For businesses evaluating Mexico as an investment destination, the reform adds a new variable to workforce planning that will unfold gradually through the end of the decade.