BMW to cut 8,000 office jobs – primarily in Germany

The automaker BMW apparently plans to cut 8,000 jobs worldwide, saving €1 billion annually. The focus is primarily on office jobs in Germany rather than production roles. The Munich-based company aims to avoid layoffs and instead offers individual severance packages.

Germany’s premium carmaker BMW is intensifying its cost-cutting measures in response to growing global market pressures. In a swift initial step, the group, led by its new CEO Milan Nedeljković, has agreed with the works council on “a far-reaching adjustment of personnel structures, including a voluntary severance programme,” as BMW described it.

“The automotive industry is faced with rapidly escalating challenges – intense global competition, increasing regional regulatory requirements and the implications of geopolitical conflicts will shape our business model in the years ahead. That’s why it’s important to be lean and agile,” Nedeljković stated during the presentation of the group’s financial results for the first half of 2026, which revealed an 8 per cent decline in revenue to €62.27 billion compared to the same period the previous year.

At the same time, the group’s pre-tax profit fell by 29.4 per cent to €4.05 billion, while the EBT margin dropped by 2 percentage points to 6.5 per cent. “We are working to reshape our organisation and processes, thereby positioning the company to stay competitive going forward,” Nedeljković added.

While BMW has not yet specified the exact number of affected jobs, reports from news agencies Reuters, AFP, Handelsblatt and others indicate that the company plans to eliminate around 8,000 positions worldwide as part of its cost-saving programme. According to these reports, which cite corporate sources, the programme is set to begin in October and conclude by the end of next year. The aim is to achieve annual savings of approximately €1 billion from 2028 onwards. The cuts will primarily affect the German workforce, particularly at the group’s headquarters and the Research and Innovation Centre in Munich. However, production at domestic plants will remain unaffected.

Following intensive negotiations between the executive board and employee representatives, the agreement was finalised. BMW is pursuing a socially responsible approach, with the majority of reductions to be achieved through a severance programme in Germany, the non-replacement of vacant positions, and partial retirement. Around 40,000 of the 85,000 employees in Germany are expected to receive individual severance offers, for which the company has allocated approximately €1 billion.

The new CEO, Milan Nedeljković, prepared the workforce for fundamental changes. “I am aware that the coming period will demand a great deal from all of us,” he emphasised during a works meeting on Wednesday, as quoted by Handelsblatt. Nevertheless, he stressed the need to ensure that BMW becomes more profitable and competitive. The move comes in response to the aforementioned profit decline and significant challenges in China.

In addition to structural adjustments, the group is also reorganising its management. Units are to be consolidated, and responsibilities shifted more strongly towards value-creating areas. Furthermore, a leadership change is imminent in the HR department: Dorothea von Boxberg, formerly CEO of Lufthansa’s subsidiary Brussels Airlines, will take over as Chief Human Resources Officer from Ilka Horstmeier on 1 September to steer the transformation.

Martin Kimmich, Chairman of the General Works Council, emphasised that, unlike the publicly debated tough measures at other car manufacturers, BMW has focused on binding protective mechanisms. “While elsewhere there is public discussion about job cuts, plant closures, or austerity measures, we have concentrated on creating security for employees and implementing binding safeguards,” Kimmich was quoted as saying by Spiegel Online.