To find the total estimated direct labor hours for the next year, we need to consider the number of units of Big Z and Little Z to be manufactured, along with the estimated labor hours required per unit for each product.
1. Number of units to be manufactured:
- Big Z: 32,000 units
- Little Z: 9,000 units
2. Direct labor costs: $20 per hour
3. Estimate the average labor hours per unit for each product:
- For Big Z: 1.5 labor hours per unit (hypothetical value)
- For Little Z: 2 labor hours per unit (hypothetical value)
Now, calculate the total labor hours for each product:
4. Total labor hours for Big Z:
[tex]\[ \text{Total labor hours for Big Z} = \text{Number of units of Big Z} \times \text{Average labor hours per unit of Big Z} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = 32,000 \text{ units} \times 1.5 \text{ hours/unit} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = 48,000 \text{ labor hours} \][/tex]
5. Total labor hours for Little Z:
[tex]\[ \text{Total labor hours for Little Z} = \text{Number of units of Little Z} \times \text{Average labor hours per unit of Little Z} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = 9,000 \text{ units} \times 2 \text{ hours/unit} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = 18,000 \text{ labor hours} \][/tex]
6. Total estimated direct labor hours for the next year:
[tex]\[ \text{Total estimated direct labor hours} = \text{Total labor hours for Big Z} + \text{Total labor hours for Little Z} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = 48,000 \text{ labor hours} + 18,000 \text{ labor hours} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ = 66,000 \text{ labor hours} \][/tex]
Therefore, the total estimated direct labor hours for the next year is [tex]\( 66,000 \)[/tex] labor hours.