According to foreign media reports, on November 22, the German metal industry trade union (IG Metall) issued a statement saying that in the next few years, auto parts supplier Bosch plans to lay off employees in Germany, involving positions related to autonomous driving and car steering products. A Bosch spokesman confirmed that the company would cut 5,500 jobs worldwide, including 3,800 in Germany.
A Bosch spokesman said: "The automotive industry is facing serious overcapacity, and competition and price pressures continue to intensify."
As the German auto parts giant, Bosch has announced several times during the year that it will lay off employees. Earlier this month, Bosch Chief Executive Stefan Hartung said the company plans to further restructure staff as it will not meet economic targets this year, including job cuts at German plants, covering its auto supply division, tools division, and home appliances subsidiary BSH Home Appliances, with 3,200 job cuts in the automotive sector.
In addition to Bosch, before this, other auto parts suppliers—including ZF, Schaeffler, Valeo, and Brose—have also taken corresponding measures. These companies, which rely heavily on traditional metal forming, sheet metal fabrication, and metal stamping processes for components, are now grappling with declining demand for fuel vehicle parts.
Behind the layoffs and other measures taken by auto parts suppliers lies the automotive industry’s accelerated shift toward electrification. The sector is confronting declining demand, compressed market space, and the high costs of transitioning from conventional manufacturing methods like deep drawing, stamping dies, and progressive stamping dies to newer technologies suited for electric vehicles (EVs).
The shift from fuel vehicles to EVs is proving difficult, particularly for suppliers specializing in metal fabrication and deep drawn components for internal combustion engines. Layoffs help reduce expenses and mitigate financial pressures, but they also reflect the broader upheaval in traditional supply chains.
Currently, the global auto industry is in a challenging phase of electrification. The slow adoption of EVs in Europe, coupled with historically low car sales, has eroded profit margins for traditional suppliers reliant on metal stamping and other legacy processes. However, the transition from fuel vehicles to EVs is inevitable, and their market share will continue to shrink. In this context, both traditional automakers and parts giants—especially those steeped in progressive stamping dies and other conventional manufacturing—face unprecedented pressure.
Under the electrification trend, the automotive industry’s landscape is being reshaped, forcing traditional players to innovate. Layoffs address the employment impact of technological shifts while cutting costs. Industry experts predict more automakers and parts suppliers—particularly those in metal forming and sheet metal fabrication—will resort to layoffs to navigate these challenges.
