\n<\/p>\n
BMW is planning to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in Germany, according to reports, in the latest sign of Europe\u2019s largest carmakers reducing costs under pressure from Chinese rivals.<\/p>\n
The Munich-headquartered company has started a voluntary redundancy programme agreed with employee representatives, a BMW spokesperson said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The company and its \u200bworks council had agreed a severance \u2060programme targeting the administration and development \u200bdivisions, the spokesperson said. Production operations are excluded.<\/p>\n
BMW\u2019s total workforce is about 160,000.<\/p>\n
Germany\u2019s carmakers have come under intense pressure in recent years with the rise of Chinese competitors that have quickly come to dominate in the electric vehicle market. Chinese manufacturers have also launched a fierce price war in their home market, which had previously been a lucrative source of export earnings for European brands including BMW.<\/p>\n
Europe\u2019s carmakers have also had to find cash for their own transition from petrol to electric, and cope with the impact of US tariffs. Several manufacturers \u2013 including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Ford \u2013 have turned to partnerships with Chinese rivals to help them build and sell in Europe.<\/p>\n
BMW\u2019s cuts come after Milan Nedeljkovi\u0107, who was previously head of production, took over as chief executive in May.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson said: \u201cThe BMW Group is proactively shaping the profound changes taking place in its operating environment. These include the technological transformation of the automotive industry, geopolitical uncertainties, changing market conditions and developments in China.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span>Porsche is also undergoing restructuring, with 9,000 redundancies \u2013\u00a0a fifth of its workforce \u2013\u00a0planned by 2035.<\/span> Photograph: Ralph Orlowski\/Reuters<\/p>\n Volkswagen, Germany\u2019s largest carmaker by volume, confirmed on Friday that it would cut as many as 100,000 jobs from its total workforce of 650,000. The plans include closing four factories and halving the number of models produced.<\/p>\n Porsche, the sports car brand part-owned by Volkswagen, is also undergoing a severe restructuring. Another 5,000 job cuts were agreed this week, taking total planned redundancies to 9,000 \u2013 a fifth of its workforce \u2013 by 2035. The Stuttgart-based company reported a \u20ac1.4bn (\u00a31.2bn) profit before tax on Wednesday, up from \u20ac1.1bn a year earlier.<\/p>\n Porsche\u2019s sales in China slumped by 30% to 14,500 in the first half of 2026, faster than the 17% decline across the group as a whole. Donald Trump\u2019s withdrawal of subsidies for electric cars such as Porsche\u2019s Taycan also hit North American sales.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotionFree newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/span><\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n <\/span>Aston Martin reported a loss before tax of \u00a389m in the second quarter of 2026.<\/span> Photograph: Ben Birchall\/PA<\/p>\n Aston Martin has also struggled in China and the US. The Warwickshire-based company\u2019s losses grew in the first half of the year despite it saying that its turnaround efforts had improved sales.<\/p>\n Aston Martin reported a loss before tax of \u00a389m in the second quarter of 2026, up from \u00a361m in the same period a year earlier, in a statement to the stock market on Wednesday. That left the loss for the first six months at \u00a3154m.<\/p>\n The FTSE 250 company\u2019s share price rose by 3.5%, however, after it said its performance had \u201cmaterially improved\u201d during the half year with revenues up 38% to \u00a3629m.<\/p>\n Famed as the maker of the sports cars featured in the James Bond films, Aston Martin has endured years of turmoil since it listed on the London stock market in 2018.<\/p>\n The fashion billionaire Lawrence Stroll rescued the company in early 2020, only for the Covid pandemic and subsequent supply chain disruption to rock the global industry. The company has gone through years of new fundraisings and job cuts, most recently making a fifth of its workers redundant in February.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. 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