BMW to cut around 8,000 jobs by end of 2027

After Porsche and Volkswagen, BMW is also getting ready to slim down its workforce. By the end of 2027, the German carmaker is planning to cut around 8,000 jobs.

A company source quoted by AFP said that as many as 40,000 administrative staff in Germany could begin receiving voluntary departure offers as early as October.

This move sits within a wider cost-reduction programme and does not apply to production workers. Overall, the BMW Group employs around 154,000 people worldwide.

Union confirms plan

Horst Ott, IG Metall’s lead representative in Bavaria and a member of BMW’s supervisory board, said the plan reflects weakening demand in China and the need to bolster the competitiveness of the company’s German plants.

The union official added that the agreement was negotiated over roughly six weeks, while also issuing a warning: “The clauses of the collective agreements are not negotiable. The company is also taking advantage of natural staff turnover”.

Strong pressure

BMW’s push to cut costs comes at an especially challenging moment. In the first half of the year, group sales slipped by 4.2% to about 1.1 million cars, largely driven by a 20.4% drop in China. By contrast, Europe (+5.4%) and the Americas (+3%) continued to develop positively.

In a statement, BMW acknowledged uneven performance, with the steep decline in China partly offset by rising sales in Europe and the United States.

“The first half of the year presented a mixed picture: while in China and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, BMW recorded a significant decline in the first six months of the year, the BMW Group increased its sales in Europe and the USA,” the statement says.

Pressure in the Chinese market has also led BMW to recently revise down its outlook for the car business, accepting that the operating margin could fall to between 1% and 3% by the end of this year, instead of the 4% to 6% previously announced.

Against this backdrop, the company expects to lower costs through to 2028, with most departures concentrated in 2027. According to AFP, the restructuring is set to cost several hundred million euros this year, although the final figure will depend on how many employees take up the programme.

A cross-industry trend

BMW’s planned workforce reduction comes as Europe’s industry is simultaneously dealing with weaker sales in China, intensifying pressure from Chinese manufacturers, and the high costs of the transition to electric mobility.

EY consultancy figures indicate that German industrial companies eliminated around 124,000 jobs last year-more than double the roughly 56,000 jobs eliminated in 2024-with the automotive sector accounting for a significant share of those losses.