BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) has reportedly started laying off about 1,800 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce. The report comes from Chinese outlet AI4Robo, which cites employees. CnEVPost and CarNewsChina both picked it up on Nov. 3. BMW has not commented.
What the report says
According to the report, the cuts began on Nov. 2. Most affect production staff (P-grade). Some office (G-grade) roles are also included. Departing staff are reportedly being offered N+5 severance: one month's pay per year of service plus five extra months. A union roster cited in the coverage puts BBA's headcount at more than 19,000.
Background
BMW and Mini delivered about 376,000 cars in China in the first three quarters, down 21.8%. Global deliveries were about 1.708 million, down 4.9%. BMW owns 75% of BBA and Brilliance owns 25%. CarNewsChina notes that BMW is also reported to be planning about 8,000 job cuts worldwide.
The cuts come just weeks after BBA started mass production of BMW's sixth-generation batteries in Shenyang on Oct. 15. That is a 10 billion yuan project.