BMW’s Voluntary Layoff Program Gets Off To A Rocky Start After IT Glitch

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Around 40,000 employees rushed to check their severance offers, temporarily crashing BMW’s internal HR portal on launch day.

BMW’s reputation for German engineering precision took an awkward hit this week after an IT problem disrupted its voluntary severance program on launch day. Tens of thousands of employees tried to access their individual offers simultaneously, temporarily bringing the company’s internal HR portal to a standstill.

The automaker confirmed the incident after Handelsblatt first reported it, and Automobilwoche later sought comment from BMW. The company’s human resources department officially launched the program on Thursday, giving approximately 40,000 eligible employees access to their personal offers through an internal platform.

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Apparently, curiosity got the better of the workforce. “As expected, employees were very curious to view the emails, and consequently, usage was very high after they were sent,” a BMW spokesperson told Automobilwoche when explaining the outage. The company did not disclose further technical details.

The voluntary redundancy program is part of a cost-cutting initiative BMW announced in June. The automaker aims to eliminate approximately 8,000 positions in Germany by the end of 2027, excluding employees directly involved in production.

The program lets eligible employees review their individual offers before deciding whether to leave. BMW also plans to cut departments and associated management positions by 20% by mid-2027 as it streamlines its organizational structure and seeks to improve efficiency.

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BMW Must Cut Costs Without Slowing Innovation

The program’s scale means BMW must strike a delicate balance: reducing staffing costs while continuing to develop new vehicles and technologies. The automaker is in the middle of a major product offensive centered on its Neue Klasse electric vehicles, so cost control is a key consideration as it invests in its next generation of cars.

Still, the first-day IT failure was an unfortunate own goal. BMW had spent months preparing a program designed to make its organization leaner, only for the initial rush of employees checking whether it was worth leaving to overwhelm the system handling their offers. At least the interest was unmistakable.

Elsewhere, BMW is also considering dropping models it deems insufficiently profitable. So far, only the 2 Series Active Tourer has been mentioned, but others are expected to follow. These cars won’t disappear overnight, though. Rather than pulling the plug immediately, BMW would let them run their course without developing successors, meaning their remaining shelf life could range from one to several years.

BMW Is Launching New Models

That doesn’t necessarily mean BMW’s lineup will shrink. We’ve already seen the iX4 this week, with an i3 Touring planned for next year and a compact entry-level EV for Europe expected in 2028. BMW is also considering a new flagship SUV for North America that would slot above the X7. Meanwhile, prototypes of an electric convertible have fueled speculation about an i4 Convertible, potentially accompanied by a coupe.

In other words, BMW appears to be cutting costs where it makes sense while redirecting resources to models with greater growth potential. Some familiar nameplates may eventually bow out, but new additions are already on the horizon. The strategy is less about shrinking the lineup across the board and more about deciding which cars deserve a successor in an increasingly expensive and competitive market.

As for the voluntary severance program, BMW will have to hope its next rollout goes more smoothly than the first.

Sources: Handelsblatt and Automobilwoche