Bosch plans to cut 1,500 jobs

The automotive supplier Bosch wants to cut up to 1,500 jobs in the next two years. However, there should be no redundancies for operational reasons – in accordance with an agreement concluded in the summer.

Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, is threatened with job cuts next year. In the drive division at the Stuttgart-Feuerbach and Schwieberdingen locations in Baden-Württemberg, the company sees a need for adjustments totaling up to “1,500 personnel capacities by the end of 2025,” a company spokeswoman said, according to the Reuters news agency. This applies to the areas of development, administration and sales.

The magazine “Automobilwoche” had previously reported on job cuts of this magnitude.

Bosch: Talks with works council are ongoing

Bosch confirmed that discussions were ongoing with employee representatives. The process should be designed with socially acceptable measures: “We rely on the internal placement of employees in other areas, on offering qualification programs for growth areas, but also early retirement regulations or voluntary termination agreements,” said the spokeswoman.

However, Bosch has to adapt the employment level to the order situation and the structural change in the drive sector.

Sinking Employment needs in the industry

According to the group, the transformation in the automotive industry will have a major impact on the entire industry in the medium term. The transition to electromobility requires high upfront investments and is accompanied by a falling need for employment: “A weak global economy, persistent inflation, caused, among other things, by increased costs for energy and raw materials, as well as negative exchange rate effects, are exacerbating the situation.”

However, the company stands by the exclusion of operational dismissals in accordance with the future agreement concluded in the summer. In July, following an agreement with the works council, Bosch ruled out compulsory layoffs for the core Mobility division, which is currently undergoing upheaval, for the approximately 80,000 employees in Germany until the end of 2027.