BMW Layoffs Are Coming. Though Unclear If It Will Affect Motorrad

A sales decline across both motorcycles and cars has hit the company.

Photo by: BMW

By: Jonathon Klein

Aug 4, at 8:22am ET

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BMW hasn't had the best 2026 so far, as sales for both its motorcycle and automotive businesses have declined. In regard to BMW Motorrad, sales only slipped about 3% year-over-year, which, given the current state of the world's economies, tariffs, inflation, and conflicts, isn't all that bad. Its automotive sales, however, fell about 7.5%, with Rolls-Royce and Mini being the hardest hit across the portfolio.

In total, revenue fell a whopping 28.5%, though, a loss of around €1 billion from the prior period last year. That, that's something that you can't just absorb and hope that the second half of the fiscal year can rectify. As such, BMW is looking to cut costs in order to preserve some profitability, with layoffs being targeted to occur sometime in the near future.

It's unclear, however, whether or not BMW Motorrad will be affected or if it's just the group's automotive segments that'll be impacted.

According to BMW's newly minted CEO Milan Nedeljković during the presentation of the group's Q2 finances, "The automotive industry is faced with rapidly escalating challenges – intense global competition, increasing regional regulatory requirements and the implications of geopolitical conflicts will shape our business model in the years ahead. That’s why it’s important to be lean and agile."

The specifics of the layoffs haven't yet been divulged, but the consensus among those involved parties state that BMW has worked out a deal with Works Council, the union representing BMW workers, and agreed to terms to see voluntary severance deals that, in total, affect some 8,000 employees. That's about 6% of the group's workforce.

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According to Reuters, "BMW said on Wednesday it will cut several thousand jobs in Germany by the end of 2027 ‌under a voluntary redundancy programme, the latest German carmaker to axe staff in response to squeezed profits and weak demand. BMW's severance programme, agreed between the company and the works council, targets the administration and development divisions, with production operations excluded."

It's unclear, however, where those administration and development division layoffs will occur, and whether or not they will affect the brand's motorcycle division. Again, BMW Motorrad faced far less steep sales declines compared to the rest of the industry, a feat likely bolstered by a far more affordable model lineup, as well as a new product launch cycle that saw more entry-level machines introduced throughout the world. But again, it remains unclear whether Motorrad will suffer, or how the decline of the rest of the Group's finances will affect the company as a whole.