BMW is cutting 20% of its divisions and management roles by mid-2027, and its own release credits the efficient use of AI

BMW told investors at its Capital Market Day on 30 September 2026 that it will reduce the number of divisions and associated management roles by 20 percent by the middle of next year, with a comparable reduction at the levels below. The company's release sets out the reasoning itself: "Through the efficient use of artificial intelligence, the company aims to align itself even more systematically for agility and effectiveness across all departments and corporate levels. This calls for significantly leaner management structures and a reorganisation of the divisions." Finance chief Walter Mertl added that "consistent use of agentic AI applications across all areas of the company will be a game-changer for more agile and efficient development, leaner structures and faster decision-making." BMW gave no headcount. Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the structure, counts about 65 senior vice presidents and roughly 400 senior positions below them, which puts the cut near 100 high-level jobs, most of them in Munich. It comes on top of the voluntary severance programme agreed with the works council in July, which German media reported in July would shrink the administrative and development workforce by about 8,000 by the end of 2027, with production excluded and no compulsory redundancies. That programme was explained by weak business in China and Chinese competition, not AI; the management cut is the part BMW ties to the technology. BMW is aiming to return its automotive margin to 8 to 10 percent by the start of the next decade. Most AI job cuts so far have landed on support desks and junior coders; this one starts with the people who run the departments.