Auto parts supplier Bosch warned on Wednesday of possible job cuts at its mobility division and extended by one to two years its target of 7% profitability after forecasting a difficult economic situation in 2024, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

According to preliminary data, in 2023, the German company recorded an increase in sales by 8% adjusted for the exchange rate – up to 91.6 billion euros, with a profitability of 5%.

“2023 was more difficult than we expected, and we have many challenges ahead of us in the coming years,” said CEO Stefan Hartung. Bosch is in talks with representatives of mobility “personalization” workers, and layoffs are out of the question under the 2027 agreement reached between the company and union representatives.

Bosch will continue to hire in promising sectors and invest four billion euros in retraining employees, the German group said. In January, a Reuters representative said the company wanted to lay off 1,200 employees in its software development division by the end of 2026.

However, in Romania last May, Bosch announced that it would also expand to Sibiu a scientific and technical unit that conducts tests of autonomous cars in Cluj and also uses AI technologies.

The announcement comes after Bosch invested approximately 410 million lei (approximately €83 million) in Romania in 2022, mainly in the development of production units in the Mobility Solutions business sector in Cluj and Blaž, as well as in field research and development , as part of the engineering center in Cluj.

Bosch has around 10,000 employees in Romania and more than 400,000 worldwide.

Last year, many large companies in Europe announced the layoffs of hundreds or thousands of employees in the context of anemic economic growth, reduced purchasing power and specific problems affecting their sectors of activity.