7,000 jobs hangs in the balance as sales tumble at Bosch

At the moment, I cannot rule out the possibility that we will have to further adjust our personnel capacities

Admin l Thursday, October 31, 2024

BAVARIA – Further job cuts at German technology giant Bosch cannot be ruled out amid the country’s wider economic struggles, chief executive Stefan Hartung has said.

“Bosch will not achieve its targets in 2024,” Hartung told Thursday’s edition of the Tagesspiegel newspaper, adding that he could not confirm whether plans to cut 7,000 jobs in Germany will go ahead.

“At the moment, I cannot rule out the possibility that we will have to further adjust our personnel capacities,” he said.

Sales are expected to fall slightly below the previous year’s results, Hartung said, revising earlier forecasts of growth.

Bosch – a major supplier to the automotive industry – generated almost €92 billion ($100 billion) in 2023.

Operating profit margin is estimated to drop to 4%, the chief executive added, down from 5% in the previous year.

Hartung said the company is aiming to reach 7% by 2026.

The comments came amid a difficult year for Bosch, which has revealed the plans to cut 7,000 jobs worldwide.

Most of the affected sites are believed to be in Germany, in the company’s automotive supply, tools and household appliance divisions.

Earlier this year, Bosch was faced with protests across Germany from around 25,000 employees in its automotive supply division over plans to reduce collective working hours from 40 to 35 hours.