Ford Introduced Forty-Hour Factory Week

The first major American company to introduce a five-day, 40-hour factory week was Ford Motor Company in 1926. Twelve years earlier, Henry Ford had made national headlines by raising qualifying workers' daily compensation from an average of about $2.34 to $5 and reducing their shifts from nine hours to eight. That earlier schedule remained a six-day, 48-hour week, while the shorter shifts allowed Ford to operate its factories around the clock using three crews.

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