BMW aims to cut 8,000 German jobs by 2027, source says

BMW plans to reduce its workforce by about 8,000 people by the end of 2027 through voluntary redundancy offers to German desk-based staff, a company source told AFP on Wednesday.

The source said about 40,000 of BMW's roughly 85,000 permanent employees in Germany would receive offers from October. Production-line workers would not be included, and most departures are expected next year, the source said.

BMW employs about 154,000 people worldwide. The source said the plan took about six weeks to negotiate between BMW's board and its works council and is expected to cut costs by 2028.

The programme's 2026 costs would probably reach hundreds of millions of euros, depending on take-up, the source said.

The planned cuts come as German carmakers face lower margins on electric cars, US tariffs and strong Chinese competition. BMW cut its profit outlook last month and said business in China was worse than expected. Its vehicle deliveries in China fell 30 percent year on year in the three months to June.

Horst Ott, head of the Bavarian branch of IG Metall and a member of BMW's supervisory board, said BMW was responding to the slump in the Chinese market while working to strengthen the competitiveness of its German sites. He said collective bargaining provisions were non-negotiable and that the company was also using natural staff turnover.

Other German carmakers have also moved to cut costs. Volkswagen is weighing up to 100,000 job cuts across its 10 brands, while Mercedes-Benz has its own voluntary redundancy programme.

Consultancy EY said industrial companies in Germany cut 124,000 jobs last year, about double the figure for 2024, with losses concentrated in the automotive sector.

BMW opened a new plant in lower-cost Hungary last year, and Mercedes-Benz this month unveiled an extension to its Kecskemet plant in Hungary that more than doubled its size. Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kaellenius said Tuesday that German carmaking needed to do more with less, adding: “The pressure is immense.”