Bosch has announced a new phase in its ongoing cost-cutting strategy, which includes reducing wages and working hours for 450 employees across various German locations. Starting March 1, 2025, these workers will shift to a 35-hour workweek from the current 38-40 hours, with corresponding salary reductions. This follows a similar adjustment in October, when 2,300 Bosch Engineering employees began working 37-hour weeks with proportional pay cuts.
The company’s broader workforce reduction plan is expected to affect over 7,000 jobs, mainly in Germany, as Bosch seeks to streamline operations in the face of economic challenges. Bosch has not ruled out further layoffs as it evaluates its cost structure.
The latest reductions are part of a cost-saving initiative that began in 2021. Under a socially acceptable agreement reached in July 2021, Bosch reduced its workforce by 248 employees by the end of 2022, with all departures being voluntary. However, recent measures indicate a more aggressive approach, including mandatory working hour and salary adjustments.
“There is nothing new regarding job cuts, and the reduction in working hours combined with a pay cut only affects a few sites in Germany,” said Peter De Troch, spokesperson for Bosch Benelux. Belgian operations remain unaffected, with 1,150 Bosch employees working in Tienen, Mechelen, and Brussels.
In addition to these changes, Bosch announced earlier this year that 3,500 jobs in its household appliances division (BSH) would be cut by 2027. This division, which focuses on producing appliances like washing machines and dishwashers, has faced significant market pressures.
Globally, Bosch employs over 427,000 people in 60 countries. In Belgium, Bosch’s operations include a factory and research center for windscreen wipers and rubbers in Tienen, a heating and air conditioning systems unit in Mechelen, and spare parts production for the automotive industry in Anderlecht. The BSH household appliances division operates out of the Gare Maritime on the Tour & Taxis site in Brussels.
