Germany’s premium carmaker BMW is intensifying its cost-cutting measures in response to growing global market pressures. In a swift initial step, the group, led by its new CEO Milan Nedeljković, has agreed with the works council on “a far-reaching adjustment of personnel structures, including a voluntary severance programme,” as BMW described it.
“The automotive industry is faced with rapidly escalating challenges – intense global competition, increasing regional regulatory requirements and the implications of geopolitical conflicts will shape our business model in the years ahead. That’s why it’s important to be lean and agile,” Nedeljković stated during the presentation of the group’s financial results for the first half of 2026, which revealed an 8 per cent decline in revenue to €62.27 billion compared to the same period the previous year.
At the same time, the group’s pre-tax profit fell by 29.4 per cent to €4.05 billion, while the EBT margin dropped by 2 percentage points to 6.5 per cent. “We are working to reshape our organisation and processes, thereby positioning the company to stay competitive going forward,” Nedeljković added.
While BMW has not yet specified the exact number of affected jobs, reports from news agencies Reuters, AFP, Handelsblatt and others indicate that the company plans to eliminate around 8,000 positions worldwide as part of its cost-saving programme. According to these reports, which cite corporate sources, the programme is set to begin in October and conclude by the end of next year. The aim is to achieve annual savings of approximately €1 billion from 2028 onwards. The cuts will primarily affect the German workforce, particularly at the group’s headquarters and the Research and Innovation Centre in Munich. However, production at domestic plants will remain unaffected.
