Cars of German car maker BMW stand parked in front of the car carrier ship Danube Highway at the automotive terminal on August 11, 2025 in Bremerhaven, Germany.<\/p>\n
Focke Strangmann | Getty Images<\/p>\n
BMW<\/a> said on \u2060Wednesday it will cut several thousand jobs in Germany by the end of 2027 under \u200ba voluntary redundancy program, \u200bthe latest \u200bGerman carmaker to axe staff in response to squeezed profits and weak demand.<\/p>\n BMW’s severance programme, agreed between the company and the works council, targets the administration \u2060and \u200cdevelopment divisions, with production operations excluded, a \u2060company spokesperson said.<\/p>\n According to a person familiar with the matter, the total workforce is expected to shrink by around 8,000.<\/p>\n The Munich-based group currently employs about 150,000 people worldwide.<\/p>\n Volkswagen<\/a> and \u200cMercedes-Benz<\/a> have already struck agreements to cut tens of thousands of workers, as Germany’s automotive sector comes under pressure from \u200bthe costly shift to electric vehicles, intense competition from China and U.S. tariffs.<\/p>\n On Monday, sports car maker Porsche, part of the Volkswagen Group, ramped up its restructuring to cut some 20% \u2060of staff by 2035.<\/p>\n Thousands of workers protested on Wednesday at the Neckarsulm plant of \u200cAudi, another Volkswagen brand. The site is one \u200cof four in Germany threatened with closure under Volkswagen’s restructuring plans.<\/p>\n BMW, formerly seen as a somewhat steady hand among its peers, cut its profit outlook in June \u2060for the current year, citing weaker-than-expected business in China, where vehicle sales \u2060have fallen sharply in recent months.<\/p>\n Chief Executive Milan \u2060Nedeljkovic subsequently said the automaker would accelerate and intensify ongoing cost-cutting efforts.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the CEO told staff that the rules \u200bdictating the industry had substantially changed and \u200cwith it the foundation of BMW’s business model, according to a participant at a workers assembly in Munich.<\/p>\n Nedeljkovic warned of a challenging time ahead but said the measures were important to ensure BMW becomes more profitable, the source said.<\/p>\n