BMW has closed its voluntary severance program in Germany ahead of schedule after thousands of employees reportedly expressed interest in leaving the company. The early shutdown signals a strong response to the automaker’s departure offers as it moves forward with plans to eliminate approximately 8,000 positions worldwide by the end of 2027.
BMW confirmed on October 20 that the program had reached its target and would no longer accept new applications. The initiative opened earlier in October, and the company expects to notify interested employees by mid-November whether it will agree to their departures.
Submitting an application does not guarantee a severance agreement. BMW and each employee must agree to the terms before a departure can proceed.
BMW Severance Offers Reportedly Exceed €650,000
BMW has not disclosed the total number of employees who applied. However, reports suggest that approximately 5,000 workers may have expressed interest, against the company’s broader plan to eliminate around 8,000 jobs globally, with more than half of the cuts expected in Germany.
Some employees reportedly received offers worth more than €650,000, with many packages reaching well into six figures. BMW has allocated roughly €1 billion for the program, which targets indirect roles, including administration and development. Production workers are excluded.
The offers generated significant interest when BMW made individual packages available in early October. Demand briefly overwhelmed the company’s systems as employees sought information about how much they could receive for leaving. The technical problems reportedly lasted only a few hours.
BMW Offers Bonuses for Earlier Departures
The severance agreements reportedly include additional incentives for employees who leave earlier. Workers can select departure dates of March 31 or October 31, 2027, with those choosing the earlier date eligible for a bonus.
Some agreements also cover company cars and additional benefits for long-serving employees. The terms are designed to facilitate voluntary departures as BMW works toward its workforce-reduction targets.
Although BMW initially planned to complete the job cuts by the end of October 2027, the early closure of applications does not mean all participating employees will leave immediately. Some may remain with the company into next year before their employment officially ends.
BMW Targets €1 Billion in Annual Savings by 2028
The job cuts form part of a broader cost-reduction effort as BMW faces pressure from weaker business in China, expensive electrification investments and intensifying competition.
The automaker aims to eliminate approximately 8,000 positions worldwide by the end of 2027. It expects the restructuring measures to generate annual savings of roughly €1 billion starting in 2028.
BMW is also streamlining its management structure. The company plans to reduce the number of divisions and associated senior vice president positions by 20% by the middle of next year.
BMW Relies on Voluntary Departures to Reduce Costs
Rather than relying on more confrontational restructuring measures, BMW is using voluntary departures to reduce its workforce. The approach can involve substantial upfront expenses when individual severance payments reach hundreds of thousands of euros, but it allows the company to reduce headcount without immediately resorting to compulsory redundancies.
The company must also balance its workforce reductions against the need to retain essential expertise. BMW is investing heavily in Neue Klasse combustion-engine and electric vehicles, along with the technologies supporting them, making experienced engineers and other specialists particularly valuable.
BMW’s Restructuring Faces a Key Financial Test
The early closure of the German severance program suggests BMW has attracted enough interest to meet its initial target. However, the company has not confirmed how many employees will ultimately leave under the initiative.
The longer-term challenge will be converting the departures into sustained savings while preserving the expertise needed for vehicle development and day-to-day operations. BMW’s restructuring will face a key financial test in 2028, when the upfront severance expenses are expected to give way to approximately €1 billion in annual savings.
