Auto supplier Bosch wants to cut around 5,500 jobs

In view of the crisis in the automotive industry, the supplier Bosch wants to cut more jobs than previously known. In the coming years there will be a further “need for adjustment” of up to 5,550 positions, as a company spokeswoman announced. More than two thirds of these – a total of 3,800 jobs – are to be eliminated in Germany.

According to the information, the figures are planning. Exact figures are part of the negotiations with employee representatives, which are now set to begin. The dismantling should be made as socially acceptable as possible. The agreement concluded in mid-2023 continues to apply, which excludes operational dismissals in the supply division in Germany until the end of 2027, and in some cases even until the end of 2029. At the end of 2023, a good 72,000 of the approximately 134,000 Bosch employees in this country were working in this area.

The Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division, which is responsible for assistance systems and automated driving, for example, is most affected by the current plans. By the end of 2027, 3,500 jobs will be lost worldwide, around half of them in Germany. According to the works council, this concerns the locations Leonberg, Abstatt, Renningen and Schwieberdingen in Baden-Württemberg and Hildesheim in Lower Saxony.

In addition, a total of around 750 jobs are to be eliminated at the Hildesheim plant, where Bosch produces products for electromobility, by 2032 – a large part of them (600) by the end of 2026. There are also savings plans for the division that produces steering systems for cars and trucks manufactures. Up to 1,300 jobs are to be cut at the Schwäbisch Gmünd site between 2027 and 2030, more than a third of the employees there.

The supplier justifies the savings plans with the crisis in the auto industry. “Global vehicle production will stagnate at around 93 million units this year, if not even decline slightly,” said Bosch. There is significant overcapacity in the industry. Competition and price pressure have also increased.

According to Bosch, for example, manufacturers are ordering significantly fewer parts for electric cars, which is leading to excess staff in Hildesheim. In addition, the market for future technology is developing differently than Bosch expected: driver assistance systems and solutions for automated driving are not as in demand as forecast.

Sharp criticism of the plans came from employee representatives. “The company’s announcement that it will reduce staff to this extent is a slap in the face for the employees,” said the works council head of the supplier division, Frank Sell. A total of around 2,200 job cuts in four different business areas had already been agreed in May. The additional staff cuts within a short period of time lead to a loss of trust in the management and lead to great uncertainty.

In recent months, Bosch has also reduced the working hours of numerous employees – and their salaries accordingly. “Due to the company’s unilateral intervention in employee pay, we have also reached a new low in our cooperation with management,” Sell continued. This puts social peace in the company at risk. “We will now organize our resistance to these plans at all levels.”

For over a year, the technology group’s plans to cut jobs worldwide had been announced several times. In total there are more than 7,000 jobs involved. German locations are largely affected – including in areas of the automotive supply division, but also in the tool division and at the household appliance subsidiary BSH.

In the spring, thousands of Bosch employees nationwide protested against the planned dismantling. More than 10,000 people came to the company headquarters on the Gerlinger Schillerhöhe near Stuttgart alone. There were also large protests at other locations with around 15,000 participants.

The automotive industry is in crisis due to the weak economy and is suffering from weak demand, especially for electric cars. Ford wants to cut 2,900 jobs in Germany by 2027. In the factory in Cologne, which has been completely converted to electricity and where short-time work already applies, one in four jobs will be eliminated. At Volkswagen, wage cuts, plant closures and job cuts are being discussed; according to the works council, three plants and tens of thousands of jobs are at risk. IG Metall wants to mobilize against this with warning strikes. The suppliers ZF, Continental and Schaeffler also want to cut thousands of jobs.