BMW announces 8,000 job cuts in largest voluntary redundancy program

Published Jul 30, 10:07 PM UTC

BMW has announced plans to cut approximately 8,000 jobs through its largest-ever voluntary redundancy program, targeting administrative and development roles while excluding factory workers. The decision, revealed by CEO Milan Nedeljkovic and works council chairman Martin Kimmich on July 29, 2026, makes BMW the last of Germany's three major automakers to implement significant workforce reductions. The cuts are driven by a sharp decline in Chinese sales (down over 20% in the first half of 2026), slim margins on electric vehicles, rising U.S. tariffs, and higher production costs in Europe. BMW recently cut its profit outlook to a potential 1% margin at its cars division. The program, running from October 2026 through end of 2027, offers redundancy to about 40,000 of BMW's 85,000 permanent German employees. The company expects restructuring costs in the hundreds of millions of euros this year but anticipates approximately €1 billion in annual savings from 2028 onward.