BMW is reportedly planning to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in Germany. The Munich-headquartered company has started a voluntary redundancy programme, agreed with employee representatives, a BMW spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday.
The severance programme will target the administration and development divisions, with production operations excluded. This development is reported as a response to cost reduction pressures from Chinese rivals.
A BMW Group spokesperson stated the company is "proactively shaping the profound changes taking place in its operating environment," citing technological transformation, geopolitical uncertainties, and market conditions, including developments in China.
This follows similar actions by other German carmakers. Volkswagen confirmed plans on Friday to cut as many as 100,000 jobs from its total workforce. Porsche, part-owned by Volkswagen, also agreed to 5,000 job cuts this week, bringing its total planned redundancies to 9,000 by 2035.