[ad_1]
According to the ad hoc announcement, the BMW Board of Directors decided on Tuesday to adjust the outlook for the current fiscal year 2020.
(Photo: Reuters)
Munich The automaker BMW has reduced its outlook on its core business due to the coronavirus pandemic and wants to reduce the number of employees. The goals should be achieved with multiple employees, which will be slightly below the level of the previous year, the automaker said Tuesday night. The company will use fluctuation vacancies to drive staff restructuring. BMW did not initially disclose the number of jobs that could fall victim to the strict austerity measures.
At the end of 2019, according to the old count, the group had nearly 134,000 employees, according to a new definition of around 126,000. Until now, CEO Oliver Zipse had planned to maintain the current year with an essentially constant number of employees.
As with rivals Volkswagen and Daimler, business prospects for 2020 are darkening among the Munichers. Measures to curb the crown pandemic in numerous markets have taken longer than expected in mid-March when the forecast was released. The effects are likely to be particularly strong in the current second quarter of 2020.
The group plans to present the figures for the first quarter on Wednesday. Volkswagen and Daimler had already lowered their business forecasts and warned of losses in the second quarter. BMW is now the latest German car company to cut its prospects.
In mid-March, BMW initially expected a four-week production break due to the spread of Covid-19 lung disease, now around six weeks have passed. Furthermore, plants in Europe, South Africa and North America are not yet operating at full speed, and it is doubtful that car buyers will immediately buy the cars as they did before the crisis.
The German automotive lobby is currently working with the VDA industry association in the German government to obtain a government purchase premium in order to boost the industry, which is important to Germany, with its many jobs again.
Plus: The coronavirus crisis is one of the biggest tests for the auto industry. American automaker Tesla is proving to be surprisingly robust, says Handelsblatt editor Markus Fasse.
