- BMW reportedly wants to eliminate around 8,000 positions across its global workforce.
- Most cuts should hit German corporate roles while factory workers remain excluded.
- China, tariffs and rising costs are forcing a rethink for BMW and other automakers.
BMW has spent billions preparing its in-demand Neue Klasse cars, but now it’s putting its workforce through a major overhaul too. The automaker is looking to shed around 8,000 jobs globally, with most of those departures expected to come from Germany as it tries to cut costs and restore profitability.
Unlike some restructuring programs, BMW isn’t currently reaching for the axe on its production lines. Instead, voluntary severance packages will target areas like administration and research and development, and planning, with factory workers excluded from the scheme.
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Bloomberg reports that management ranks will also be streamlined, while the German voluntary departure program is expected to kick off in October and continue through the end of 2027. BMW confirmed that it has reached an agreement with its works council on restructuring, without detailing the targeted headcount.
The cuts are significant even for a company BMW’s size. It employed around 150,000 people globally, including 87,436 in Germany at the end of 2025. That German workforce had already shrunk by 2.3 percent compared with the previous year.
Behind the belt tightening is an increasingly uncomfortable collection of problems. BMW’s sales in China have fallen sharply, with homegrown manufacturers such as BYD turning up the pressure, particularly in EVs. Those Chinese brands aren’t staying home either, and their growing European presence means BMW now has to fight them on familiar turf too.
US Tariffs Not Helping
Adding to BMW’s misery are US tariffs, expensive European manufacturing and geopolitical uncertainty. BMW lowered its profit outlook in June and new CEO Milan Nedeljkovic subsequently promised to accelerate the company’s existing cost-cutting efforts.
Nedeljkovic told employees that the rules governing the industry had changed substantially, along with the foundations underpinning BMW’s business, according to Reuters. He reportedly warned staff that difficult times lie ahead, while arguing the restructuring is necessary to improve profitability.
BMW is far from alone. Volkswagen and Mercedes have already agreed plans involving tens of thousands of job reductions, while Porsche recently expanded its own restructuring efforts that will leave 6,000 additional workers looking for a new gig on top of the 3,500 already earmarked for the chop.
