Bosch to axe 5,550 jobs in latest blow to German auto sector

(Reuters) - Robert Bosch said on Friday the company plans to cut up to 5,550 jobs, the latest sign of struggle in Germany's creaking auto sector, which is grappling with competition from cheaper Chinese rivals and weak demand.

Bosch, the world's biggest car parts supplier, said it is planning to cut 3,500 jobs by end-2027 in its cross-domain computer solutions division, half of which will be at German sites, flagging weak demand in intelligent driver assistance systems and solutions for automated driving.

It also plans to cut around 750 jobs by 2032 at its Hildesheim plant, in Germany, 600 of which are planned by the end of 2026.

Further to that, Bosch announced cuts at its steering division at a plant in Schwaebisch Gmuend, near Stuttgart. The company plans to axe up to 1,300 positions there between 2027 and 2030.

The slowdown in the German car sector has also rocked Volkswagen, which has locked horns with workers over plans to close plants in Germany, and Mercedes, where a plunge in earnings led the carmaker to vow tougher cost cuts.

Bosch's works council and the IG Metall union expressed their opposition to the layoffs in a statement.

"We will now organise our resistance to these plans at all levels," said Frank Sell, deputy head of the works council.

(Reporting by Tristan Veyet, Paolo Laudani and Isabel Demetz in Gdansk, Editing by Rachel More)