BMW cuts jobs, ends self-driving project with Mercedes

Frankfurt am Main

BMW will slash 6,000 jobs this year and freeze a major self-driving technology collaboration with rival Mercedes-Benz as the German luxury carmaker sees demand plunging because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Further steps are needed to make the BMW Group more resilient to external influences and market fluctuations,” bosses said in a statement, adding that the company aims “to achieve planned workforce reductions through attrition and voluntary agreements”.

The 6,000 positions make up a considerable chunk of BMW’s more than 120,000 worldwide, with the job cuts coming as the industry battles a demand trough and production setbacks from the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile BMW and Daimler-owned Mercedes “are putting their cooperation on development of next-generation technology for automated driving on hold,” the Munich and Stuttgart-based firms said in a joint statement.

The two groups had joined forces to catch up their American and Chinese competitors, including Tesla and Google, which have a head start