Up to 8,000 jobs could reportedly be on the chopping block as BMW's profits fell 35 percent during Q2. Thousands of BMW employees may face job cuts following a lackluster second-quarter performance by the brand during which global profits fell by 35 percent, with the brand's pre-tax earnings coming in at just $1.95 billion. BMW's current struggles are largely the result of a massive drop-off in the Chinese market.
According to Automotive News, BMW's difficult Q2 can be largely explained by a sales decline in China as domestic automakers ramp up competition, as well as the general lack of consumer confidence associated with the ongoing Middle East conflict. Global sales were down 5 percent year over year, but that figure sits at a massive 30 percent loss for China on its own.
View Price on AmazonAlong with the drop in pre-tax earnings, BMW's core business narrowed to 2.3 percent, down from 5.4 percent last year. While this did beat analyst predictions for Q2, it is not a positive result for the automaker. CEO Milan Nedeljkovic stated that he will be looking at the company's business model as a whole, noting that the results to start 2026 “are not satisfactory.”
Nedeljkovic specifically noted that he intends to make the company leaner, which will start with an evaluation of both the internal combustion and electric model lineups. Other strategic partnerships are also being investigated in an effort to cut costs and boost profitability. “We are taking a critical look at how we work, including re-visiting core processes and structures that previously were considered untouchable," Nedeljkovic said, according to Reuters.
Unfortunately, that thinking will likely also apply to the workforce itself. Reports have swirled that BMW plans to axe as many as 8,000 employees, though the reductions are said to largely come by way of a voluntary severance program. BMW did confirm that cuts of several thousand jobs will happen before the end of 2027, but has made no comments on the exact number of employees in the crosshairs.
Source: roadandtrack.com
