China market stalls, BMW slashes jobs! Globally expected to cut 8,000 positions, CEO says will accelerate cost reduction.

BMW recently announced that it will cut thousands of jobs in Germany by the end of 2027, through a voluntary severance plan agreed with employee representatives.

A BMW spokesperson stated that the company and the works council have reached an agreement on a severance plan, targeting administrative and R&D departments, with production unaffected.

Insiders revealed that BMW's total global workforce is expected to be reduced by approximately 8,000 people.

The layoff plan comes against the backdrop of BMW lowering its profit expectations for this year in June, due to weaker-than-expected business performance in the Chinese market.

In recent years, BMW's car sales in China have significantly declined, facing pressures from narrowing profit margins and intense competition.

BMW CEO Milan Nedeljković stated that the company will accelerate and strengthen the cost-reduction measures currently being implemented.

In BMW's 2026 annual report, the company has already hinted at a slight decrease in employee numbers. For BMW, a "slight reduction" typically means a decrease of no more than 5% in total workforce. BMW Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany, currently has approximately 150,000 employees globally.

Earlier, BMW had already taken several contraction measures due to weak performance in the Chinese market, including discontinuing production of older all-electric models.