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A worker dusts a fuel cell power module on the Robert Bosch GmbH booth at the IAA Transportation fair in Hannover, Germany. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg News)

Robert Bosch GmbH doesn’t expect to see significant improvement in its key markets until next year, adding to cost pressures that already triggered a wave of job cuts.

Unveiling its 2025 annual results Jan. 30, privately-held Bosch said the world’s biggest automotive supplier won’t hit a 7% margin target until 2027 at the earliest because of sluggish demand and high costs. The maker of drivetrain components and power tools said early signs of a global economic slowdown this year are set to compound the impact of tariffs, raising price pressures.

Bosch has repeatedly pushed back its margin ambitions in recent years.

“The target is still set in stone — it’s just that the stone has a habit of moving around,” Chief Executive Officer told reporters, indicating the manufacturer may need to accelerate shrinking its workforce beyond the 13,000 cuts it announced last year.

Securing competitiveness and investment capacity in the long run means “we need to do much more to reduce our personnel expenses and streamline our organization,” Bosch said in a statement.

Competition from Chinese rivals and software-focused companies is intensifying, squeezing traditional automotive suppliers. At the same time, carmakers are developing more technologies in-house, eroding their bargaining power. Germany’s auto sector has responded with a wave of job cuts.

Bosch is��leading those reductions��among suppliers, with plans to eliminate a total of 18,500 positions. That includes the 13,000 cuts announced in September in its Mobility unit, although operational redundancies at German sites are ruled out until the end of 2027. Talks with labor representatives on socially responsible measures are ongoing.

Last year’s returns on earnings before interest and tax fell to around 2% from 3.5% in 2024 and below expectations, Bosch said. Revenue edged up by 0.8% to 91 billion euros ($109 billion), held back by a decline in Europe, its biggest market.

Currency effects led by the dollar’s weakness and tariffs weighed on results, while intensifying competition, weak demand from carmakers and restructuring costs continued to pressure performance.

“It’s a tough struggle to achieve the most socially acceptable approach possible,” Hartung said, declining to comment on further layoffs. “We hope that we won’t have to do anything on that scale in the coming years.”