Bosch to Cut 13,000 Jobs in Mobility Division

Under pressure from leaks to the press, manufacturing giant Bosch announced a series of measures to reduce operations in its Mobility division, including the elimination of some 13,000 jobs by 2030, particularly in Germany.

The company attributed the decision to the challenging global economic environment, resulting from weak growth in the automotive market and the lack of regulatory frameworks for the development of new technologies, but also because demand for its products “is shifting significantly to regions outside Europe,” the announcement said.

Bosch Mobility faces an annual cost gap of €2.5 billion, which it intends to address through productivity improvements, supply chain efficiencies, cost reductions, and structural adjustments.

While it plans to implement artificial intelligence to improve manufacturing and engineering processes, its executives confirmed that staff reductions are inevitable.

“Unfortunately, we will not be able to avoid further job cuts in addition to those already announced. This affects us greatly, but unfortunately there is no alternative,” said Stefan Grosch, member of the Bosch board of management and director of labor relations.

The plan will mainly affect plants in Germany, including Feuerbach, where some 3,500 jobs will be cut, including 1,500 at the powertrain components plant, due to declining demand for diesel and the slow adoption of hydrogen technologies.

As a result of this reduction, around 1,750 jobs in sales, purchasing, administration, and development will be cut in Schwieberdingen.

At the Waiblingen plant, there are plans to gradually phase out connector technology production, which currently employs around 560 people, by the end of 2028. The plant's subsidiaries will not be affected.

At the Bühl/Bühlertal plant, where Bosch develops and manufactures electric drives for low-voltage applications for European car manufacturers, the company plans to cut around 1,550 jobs by the end of 2030.

Finally, in Hamburg, Bosch plans to cut around 1,250 jobs as operations within the Power Solutions division are consolidated.

Although the above measures together involve the elimination of almost 9,000 jobs in Germany alone, the industrial group said it remains committed to Germany as its base but must optimize its strategy to remain competitive.

“Germany is and will remain fundamental to Bosch, also in terms of the number of employees. However, we need to position ourselves more efficiently to stay afloat in the face of tough global competition,” Grosch said.