A number of recently announced staff reduction schemes at Bosch, the world's top auto supplier, have put around 8,000-10,000 jobs at risk in Germany, the company's deputy supervisory board chairman said on Wednesday.
Frank Sell, who also heads the works council of Bosch's key Mobility Solutions division, said the overall plans created an atmosphere in the group that he described as "absolutely unbearable".
Bosch employs around 135,000 staff in Germany, Reuters reported.
Asked whether Bosch workers would go on strike similar to their peers at Volkswagen, Sell said that labour representatives and unions would now develop an action plan for 2025 that would not rule out strikes.
Europe's carmakers have been hit by weakening demand and a slower-than-expected shift to electric vehicles, Makers in Germany are battling high costs and cheaper Chinese rivals entering the market.
Bosch management board member Stefan Grosch, who is in charge of human resources, told journalists in a call that the cuts were necessary to ensure Bosch remains competitive, adding the whole industry was suffering.
Grosch said that Bosch's supervisory board would convene on Friday, adding the goal was to make the cuts in a socially responsible way but that the rapid changes in the sector meant the group would have to regularly review capacity.
