BMW’s Half-Year Reckoning: Margin Squeeze, 8,000 Job Cuts, and a China Sales Collapse Converge
Published on 07/30/2026 at 06:31 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
BMW enters one of its most consequential trading days in years on Thursday, with half-year results set to put hard numbers behind a cascade of bad news that has already slashed more than a third from the stock’s value since January. The German automaker’s shares closed at €60.20 on Wednesday, up 0.64% on the session but still nursing a year-to-date loss of 35.56% — a decline that reflects the weight of a deteriorating Chinese market, a drastically lowered profit forecast, and a restructuring plan that will cost roughly €1 billion.
The figures due today will offer the first concrete evidence of how deeply the margin correction announced in June has already cut into BMW’s bottom line. At that time, the company slashed its EBIT margin forecast for the automotive segment to a range of just 1% to 3%, down from the previous 4% to 6% guidance, blaming an accelerated slowdown in China — a market that has long been BMW’s most important sales region.
A €1 Billion Restructuring With 8,000 Jobs on the Line
The earnings release follows Wednesday’s announcement of a global cost-cutting program that will eliminate roughly 8,000 positions by the end of 2027. The cuts, which BMW described as the largest workforce reduction in its recent history, will target administrative, development and management roles in Germany, leaving production jobs untouched. Around 40,000 of the company’s 85,000 German employees — more than half of its global workforce of 154,000 — will be eligible for a voluntary severance program running from October 2026 through the end of 2027.
Chief Financial Officer Mertl put the upfront cost of the restructuring at a three-digit million-euro figure for the current year, with total one-time charges expected to reach around €1 billion. From 2028 onward, the savings are projected to match that amount annually. The program was negotiated over six weeks between management and labor representatives, with CEO Milan Nedeljkovic and works council chief Martin Kimmich presenting the plan jointly. The IG Metall union reacted with restraint, while BMW’s plant in Steyr, Austria, was explicitly excluded from the cuts.
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The timing of the restructuring is no accident. BMW’s China deliveries plunged roughly 30% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, a collapse that has already pushed Europe past China as the company’s largest sales region. Additional headwinds include U.S. tariffs, intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers, and thinning margins in the electric-vehicle business.
Structural Overhaul and a New Board Member
Even as BMW tightens its belt, it is pressing ahead with long-term investments in electrification. Earlier this week, the company showcased its new battery plant in Woodruff, South Carolina, where high-voltage batteries for the BMW iX5 will eventually be produced. Series production is not expected to begin until December 2026, and the event featured only test and pre-series units. The facility underscores BMW’s commitment to localizing EV production in the U.S. despite the broader cost-cutting drive.
On the governance front, the supervisory board has appointed Dorothea von Boxberg as a new board member effective September 1. Meanwhile, the company completed the conversion of all preference shares into ordinary shares under ISIN DE0005190003 at the end of June, a move approved by shareholders in May that simplifies BMW’s equity structure and should improve trading liquidity and transparency.
Stock Edges Higher, But the Real Test Is Now
The market reaction to the restructuring news was muted but positive. BMW shares gained 1.27% on Wednesday to €60.74, and the stock has risen 5.05% over the past week — suggesting that investors view the cost-cutting as a necessary, if overdue, response rather than a fresh source of alarm. Still, the shares remain 7.70% above the 52-week low of €56.40 hit on July 24, a modest recovery that leaves the stock deep in bear territory.
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BMW is not alone in its pain. On the same day the Munich-based automaker unveiled its job cuts, Porsche confirmed a second round of cost reductions totaling 5,000 additional positions through 2035, also citing the collapse in Chinese demand. Industry reports warn that the German automotive sector as a whole could shed up to 225,000 jobs by 2035 as the transition to electric mobility and shifting trade dynamics reshape the competitive landscape.
For BMW, Thursday’s half-year numbers will determine whether the margin forecast can be defended, whether the restructuring plan is sufficient to stabilize profitability, and whether the stock’s recent stabilization marks a genuine floor or merely a pause before another leg lower. Between a shrinking workforce, a new battery plant in the U.S., and a fresh face on the board, the company’s strategic pivot is now being tested in real time — and in hard numbers.
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