BMW profit slumps 35% as China sales collapse, plans 8,000 job cuts
Second-quarter net profit fell to €1.2 billion, and the automotive division earned less than financial services for the first time. The Munich-based carmaker also announced a voluntary severance programme for up to 8,000 employees, its largest workforce reduction in almost two decades.
Financial results
BMW's net profit after tax fell 35 percent to €1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2026, while revenue declined 8 percent to €31.3 billion. The automotive division bore the brunt: its operating profit plunged more than 60 percent to €629 million, leaving the group in the unusual position of earning more from financial services than from building cars. For the first half, net profit reached €2.9 billion, down from €4.0 billion a year earlier.
The challenges across the entire automotive industry are increasing rapidly: tough global competition, rising regulatory requirements and the effects of geopolitical conflicts will shape our business model in the coming years. That is why we need to be lean and agile.
Job cuts programme
A day before the results, BMW presented a personnel restructuring plan agreed with the works council. Up to 8,000 jobs are to be cut worldwide, mostly in Germany, through a voluntary severance programme. CEO Milan Nedeljković and works council chairman Martin Kimmich jointly outlined the measures to the workforce on 29 July. A BMW spokesperson confirmed the agreement, though the company did not publicly specify the number of positions. The severance costs are expected to run into a three-digit million euro sum. The reduction is the largest at BMW in almost 20 years, comparable only to the programme launched by then-CEO Norbert Reithofer in early 2008.
- Speculation about a BMW job-cutting programme begins
- CEO Nedeljković and works council chairman Kimmich present the restructuring plan to the workforce
- BMW releases Q2 results showing a 35% profit drop and confirms the job cuts
China slump and electric shift
The main drag was China, where BMW's deliveries collapsed 30.2 percent in the second quarter and 20.4 percent in the first half. Overall group deliveries slipped 4.9 percent to 591,000 vehicles in the quarter. By contrast, sales in Europe and the United States rose, driven by the electric models of the Neue Klasse. The iX3 SUV built in Debrecen is approaching 100,000 orders, and the Munich-built i3 sedan is seeing strong early demand. Almost one in three BMWs sold in Europe is now electric.
After savings of 2.5 billion euros last year, we are intensifying and accelerating our efficiency measures and tackling structural changes in a targeted way. Our goal is less complexity and a lower cost base.
- H1 2025
- 4 € billion
- H1 2026
- 2.9 € billion
Brake settlement with Aumovio
Separately, supplier Aumovio agreed to pay BMW €350 million to settle all legal disputes over the faulty MK2 braking system that triggered a recall of more than 1.5 million vehicles in 2024. The Frankfurt-based company, spun off from Continental in autumn 2025, had set aside only €54 million for the litigation, so the settlement will weigh on its second-quarter result. At the same time, BMW and Aumovio announced a long-term supply and development agreement worth over €1 billion, with the MK2 system to be delivered until the middle of the next decade.
Outlook
BMW maintained the full-year forecast it had lowered in June, which now points to a decline in pre-tax profit. CFO Walter Mertl said the company is accelerating efficiency measures and using digitalisation and artificial intelligence to cut costs. The restructuring, Nedeljković added, is a first quick step to align the organisation with permanently changed conditions.
