BMW offers severance packages to employees to cut 8 000 jobs

BMW AG is offering voluntary severance packages to thousands of its workers in Germany, as the carmaker tries to become leaner to better compete with rivals from China.

The manufacturer expects the departures in Germany to account for most of the around 8 000 positions it’s looking to cut globally, according to people familiar with the matter.

That’s around 5% of its total workforce, the latest in a series of restructuring moves by the country’s embattled auto industry.

The offer will go out to staff in research, development, planning and other corporate functions, with factory floor workers not eligible, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the plans aren’t public.

BMW also is looking to streamline its management ranks in the coming months as part of the broader cuts, they said.

BMW and its German peers are slashing expenses in response to challenges including slumping sales in