Bosch pushes back margin target, warns of further job cuts

BERLIN (Reuters) - German autos supplier Bosch warned of possible personnel cuts in its mobility sector and pushed back its target margin of 7% by one to two years on Wednesday as it forecast a gloomy economic environment for 2024.

The company reported an 8% increase in exchange-rate adjusted sales to 91.6 billion euros ($98.56 billion) in 2023, according to preliminary figures, with an earnings margin before interest and taxes from operations of 5%.

2023 was "tougher than expected... the years ahead will demand a lot from all of us," Chief Executive Stefan Hartung said in a statement.

The company was in talks with employee representatives in its mobility department about "personnel adjustments", Bosch said, adding redundancies were off the table under agreements struck between the company and its works council until 2027.

It would continue hiring in promising business areas and invest 4 billion euros in re-skilling staff, it added.

A spokesperson told Reuters in January that the company was looking to cut 1,200 jobs in its software development division by the end of 2026 because of the slower-than-expected growth of automated driving.

($1 = 0.9294 euros)

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Miranda Murray)

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