Bosch Profits Plummet, Announces 13,000 Layoffs to Weather Industry Downturn

Hit by weak demand for electric vehicles, shrinking traditional internal combustion engine businesses, and intensifying competition in the Chinese market, Bosch Group expects its 2025 profit margin to fall significantly short of its 2% target, with earnings sharply declining. The outlook for 2026 also remains bleak. CEO Stefan Hartung stated that the company may not achieve its long-term profit margin target of 7% until as early as 2027. To address these challenges, Bosch plans to cut 13,000 jobs in its Mobility Solutions division, with the reductions to be completed by the end of 2030. German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen, another industry giant, is also struggling: its sales in the first half of 2025 dropped 10.3% year-over-year, resulting in a net loss of €195 million and an EBIT margin that fell to just 1.9%. The difficulties faced by these two major suppliers reflect the severe pressures confronting the global automotive industry during this period of transformation.