Bosch Layoffs: German automotive components makerBosch announced its plans to cut 1,100 jobs at its Southern Germany-based plant on Tuesday, 22 July 2025, and disclosed that this move will affect one-tenth of the workers at the site, reported the news agency AFP.
This layoff will affect people who are involved in the site’s assembly line as well as in back-office roles, reported the news agency, citing the German autoparts maker.
“The European market for steering systems is driven by price and hard fought with new suppliers,” said Bosch’s electronics chief, Dirk Kress, amid the rising competition from the Chinese manufacturers in recent years. German car manufacturers have been struggling with this issue in recent times as the Asian nation contests for market share.
“The required cuts are not easy, but they are essential to secure the future of the site,” he said, according to the news agency’s report.
Losing the ‘competitive’ edge
Sales volumes of steering systems were declining partly as a result of the sluggish uptake of electric vehicles, Bosch said in a statement.
“Manufacturing steering systems at the Reutlingen site is no longer competitive,” Bosch said, adding that the plant would now focus on manufacturing semiconductors.
The company did not say whether the cuts would involve compulsory redundancies or rely on voluntary measures such as early retirement.
Fellow automotive suppliers Schaeffler and Continental have made layoffs in the past year while sports car maker Porsche last Friday warned workers of a “serious situation” amid collapsing demand in China.
Bosch itself last November announced 5,500 layoffs across the company.