BMW allocated a billion euros in its budget to pay compensation to dismissed employees
The German car concern BMW plans to cut up to 8,000 jobs worldwide, primarily in Germany. To this end, the company launched a voluntary redundancy program with substantial compensation. According to information from Bild, a billion euros have been allocated for these payments in 2026, and expenses could be even higher in 2027.
The amount of compensation will depend on the employee's salary, age, and length of service with the company. According to the publication, some experienced employees with high incomes could receive around 50,000 euros for each year of work at BMW. Thus, an employee with 12 years of experience could potentially expect 600,000 euros. Handelsblatt also reports individual cases where payments exceed 650,000 euros.
Interest in the program proved to be so great that BMW's internal portal temporarily could not handle the load. The company suspended the acceptance of new applications to process those already received. A representative of the concern confirmed the high interest among employees but did not disclose details about the compensation amounts.
Despite significant initial costs, management expects the program to pay off. From 2028, BMW plans to save about a billion euros annually.
Among the reasons for the cuts are the desire to increase efficiency, the expansion of artificial intelligence use, and a reduced need for some developers after the launch of the new generation of Neue Klasse cars.