Automotive giant Bosch is now announcing that it cannot stick to 12,000 layoffs, as was the plan to reduce the workforce by 2032.
Layoffs are now a recurring theme at Bosch. The German company has announced that it expects to make more than the already planned 12,000 layoffs.
The giant subcontractor must recognize that more cuts are needed because the market is not what was expected.
Stefan Hartung, director of Bosch, has made it clear in interviews with German media that the additional layoffs are necessary.
He justifies the plans with a global economy in the automotive industry showing signs of weakness. In addition, Bosch must deal with increased competition from China and consumer uncertainty.
Bosch also expects that jobs will be lost in the spread of electric cars alone. The fact that something similar now indicates that the transition to electric cars will take much longer than expected will, however, mean that some jobs will be retained, according to management.
Layoffs have already been discussed in Denmark
It is also expected that some layoffs will be redundant, as positions may disappear at the same time as certain employees retire. However, demographics cannot make everything work for Bosch.
At the end of 2024, Bosch had 417,900 employees worldwide. This is a decrease of 11,500 compared to the previous year. In Germany alone, 3.3 percent of the company's jobs disappeared.
The company has been saying for more than a year that it plans to cut jobs. By the end of 2032, more than 12,000 jobs could disappear. 7,000 of them are in Germany.
According to preliminary figures, Bosch's pre-tax earnings fell by a third last year to 3.2 billion euros. In 2023, operating profit was 4.8 billion euros. Sales fell by one percent to 90.5 billion euros.
Stefan Hartung has acknowledged that the group did not achieve the set targets. Despite continued difficult market conditions, the group expects to improve both sales and earnings in 2025. Exactly how much the Germans expect to be able to announce in May.
In May, Bosch will also present its actual annual accounts. In this regard, the director calls himself 'a cautious optimist'. The company, on the other hand, has already laid off workers in Denmark. Read more about it here .
