BMW Aims to Cut Up to 8,000 Staff by End of 2027

BMW aims to cut staff by up to 8,000 positions by the end of 2027, according to company sources. The German carmaker said the reduction would primarily target office jobs, while production line workers will be spared from cuts.

"The workforce will ultimately be reduced by around 8,000 people by the end of 2027," an anonymous source told the AFP news agency. "We're planning on the basis of that."

The Munich-based automaker hopes to achieve the cuts through natural staff turnover as well as a voluntary redundancy scheme. The latter would be aimed at all employees in Germany not directly involved in production, who could choose to accept severance packages in a period from October 2026 to the end of 2027.

The company currently employs 84,000 staff in Germany, and roughly 154,000 globally.

The latest German carmaker to announce job cuts

BMW is the latest German car company to announce job cuts, following similar moves by rival brands Volkswagen, Mercedes and Volkswagen-owned Audi. Germany's prestigious car industry is struggling amid stiff competition from Chinese carmakers, US tariffs, and narrower profit margins from electric cars. BMW was long considered one of the sector's more resilient players.

The planned cuts come after the company warned last month that its sales in China were falling sharply. Last year, BMW's vehicle deliveries in China were already at their lowest level since 2017, and they fell 30% year-on-year in the three months to June.

On Thursday, BMW is due to announce its earnings for the first half of 2026.

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Edited by: Sean Sinico