(Bloomberg) -- BMW AG plans to cut as many as 6,000 jobs in Germany by 2022 as part of its ongoing cost-savings effort, according to Manager Magazin.
Most of the positions would be eliminated at the carmaker's headquarters in Munich under the plan that could be unveiled in December, the weekly publication reported, without saying where it got the information.
Klaus Froehlich, the management board member responsible for research and development, is expected to leave next summer because he doesn't want to work with new Chief Executive Officer Oliver Zipse, the magazine also said, adding that Supervisory board head Norbert Reithofer wants him to stay.
In response to the report, BMW said it aims to keep its 2019 workforce at last year's level. “We are making use of attrition to focus the company even more on the future and to increase efficiency,” it said in a statement. At the same time, the company said it continues to recruit in areas including autonomous driving and electric mobility.
BMW has vowed to boost efficiency as part of an ongoing 12 billion-euro ($13.3 billion) savings program aimed at offsetting increased spending to develop and introduce 25 electrified models. The carmaker is counting on a fresh product lineup and better efficiency to take on rival Mercedes-Benz as waning demand in key markets squeezes profit across the industry.
European car sales fell sharply in August in a further sign of the sector's deepening woes.
Read: Europe Car Industry Woes Deepen as August Sales Drop Sharply
--With assistance from Daniel Schaefer.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tara Patel in Paris at tpatel2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tara Patel at tpatel2@bloomberg.net, John Bowker
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