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BMW to cut several thousand jobs under voluntary redundancy programme

By Thomson Reuters Jul 29, 2026 | 2:39 AM

BERLIN, July 29 (Reuters) – Premium carmaker BMW will cut several thousand jobs in Germany by the ​end of 2027 under ‌a voluntary redundancy programme agreed with employee representatives, said a company spokesperson on Wednesday.

The spokesperson added that the company and ‌the ​works council had ⁠agreed on a severance ⁠programme targeting the administration and development divisions. Production operations are excluded.

According to a person familiar with ​the matter, the total workforce is expected to shrink by ⁠around 8,000.

The move comes ⁠after BMW in June ​cut its profit outlook for the current ​year, citing weaker-than-expected business in ‌China, where vehicle sales have fallen sharply in recent months.

Chief Executive Milan Nedeljkovic subsequently said the automaker ⁠would accelerate and intensify ongoing cost-cutting efforts.

In its 2026 annual report, BMW had already ⁠signalled ‌a slight decline in ⁠employment levels. At BMW, a “slight” ​reduction ‌is defined as up ​to 5% ⁠of the workforce.

The Munich-based group currently employs about 150,000 people worldwide.

(Reporting by Christina Amann, writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Sabine Wollrab and ​Thomas Seythal)