BERLIN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- BMW's operating profit slumped nearly 40 percent in the first half of the year, the German premium carmaker said on Thursday.
The announcement came one day after it unveiled plans to cut 8,000 jobs worldwide, as the carmaker steps up cost reductions amid mounting pressure from tariffs, tougher regulation and intensifying competition.
Operating profit fell 37.4 percent year-on-year to 3.64 billion euros (4.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first six months of 2026, while net profit dropped 28.5 percent to 2.87 billion euros (3.3 billion U.S. dollars). Also, vehicle deliveries fell 4.2 percent to 1.16 million units.
The company said it expected full-year vehicle deliveries to decline slightly from last year.
BMW CEO Milan Nedeljkovic cited elevated tariffs, trade barriers, increasingly stringent regulation in Europe, and the continued conflict in the Middle East as major headwinds facing the company over the past year.
Tariffs alone cut 1.25 percentage points off the group's automotive profit margin, or earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin, in the second quarter. The margin fell to 2.3 percent from 5.4 percent a year earlier.
BMW is accelerating cost-cutting efforts by streamlining its organization and improving efficiency to safeguard its long-term competitiveness, Nedeljkovic said. He added that the company had reached an agreement with labor representatives on a workforce restructuring plan, including reductions in non-production jobs in Germany.
The auto giant would cut around 8,000 jobs worldwide between October this year and the end of 2027, with more than half of the reductions expected in Germany. BMW employed roughly 154,500 people worldwide by the end of 2025, including more than 80,000 in Germany. ■
