BMW plans to cut around 20 percent of its senior management positions by mid-2027. The German automaker will streamline divisions and management structures under an agreed buyout program. It currently has about 65 senior vice presidents reporting to the board and roughly 400 senior management roles beneath them. The changes could affect around 100 high-level positions, most of them in Munich. BMW says greater use of artificial intelligence across operations will support leaner structures, faster decision-making, and lower costs. Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl described consistent use of AI agents as a game-changer for more agile development and efficient operations. The move follows a wider voluntary departure program announced earlier that could eliminate about 8,000 white-collar jobs, or roughly 5 percent of the global workforce. BMW is under pressure from weaker demand in China and has warned its automotive profit margin could fall as low as 1 percent this year.
BMW plans to cut around 20 percent of its senior management positions by mid-2027. The German automaker will streamline divisions and management structures under an agreed buyout program. It currently has about 65 senior vice presidents reporting to the board and roughly 400 senior management roles beneath them. The changes could affect around 100 high-level positions, most of them in Munich. BMW says greater use of artificial intelligence across operations will support leaner structures, faster decision-making, and lower costs. Chief Financial Officer Walter Mertl described consistent use of AI agents as a game-changer for more agile development and efficient operations. The move follows a wider voluntary departure program announced earlier that could eliminate about 8,000 white-collar jobs, or roughly 5 percent of the global workforce. BMW is under pressure from weaker demand in China and has warned its automotive profit margin could fall as low as 1 percent this year.