BMW has long been seen as the steady one among Germany's big carmakers. That reputation is now being tested. The company confirmed, alongside its latest results, that it has reached an agreement with its works council on an extensive workforce restructuring programme, including voluntary severance packages. Wire reporting puts the scale at several thousand German jobs by the end of 2027, with a person familiar with the plan expecting the global workforce to shrink by around 8,000 from about 150,000. The cuts target administrative and development roles, and leave production untouched.
Why now
The trigger is a sharp drop in earnings. Second-quarter pre-tax profit fell 35.1% to 1.697 billion euros, and the profit margin on the car business itself slid to 2.3%. Management blamed a significant downturn in the Chinese market, along with currency and commodity headwinds and the cost of import duties in the United States and the European Union. BMW had already cut its profit outlook back in June, citing weaker-than-expected business in China, where sales have fallen sharply. Chief executive Milan Nedeljkovic framed the overhaul as staying nimble rather than panicking: "The automotive industry is faced with rapidly escalating challenges... That's why it's important to be lean and agile," he said.
Not the only one
BMW is joining a queue. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have already agreed to cut tens of thousands of workers between them, as the industry absorbs the costly shift to electric vehicles, fierce competition from China and US tariffs. Just days earlier, Porsche ramped up its own restructuring, aiming to cut around 20% of staff by 2035. For a sector long treated as the backbone of German industry, the message from this earnings season is blunt: the old business model is under real strain, and even its steadiest player is now reaching for the same lever as everyone else.
