BMW in cost-cutting drive
June 18, 2014
BMW was seeking cuts to its costs to the tune of 3 billion to 4 billion euros ($4 billion to $5.4 billion) every year until 2020, German business weekly Manager Magazine reported Wednesday.
Quoting an unnamed source from within the German premium carmaker, the magazine said BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer had put consultancy group McKinsey in charge of the program.
The cost-cutting drive was intended to ensure BMW reached its goal of an 8 to 10 percent operating profit margin, Manager Magazine added.
BMW declined to comment on the program, saying, however, that the company was always working to improve its profitability.
"It's no secret that we persistently aim to reach an operating profit margin between 8 to 10 percent in our automobile segment. This is the goal for our long-term planning," a BMW spokesperson told Manager Magazine.
BMW, which is the world's largest luxury carmaker by sales, has set successive sales records in recent years, with its factories running at full capacity. Manager Magazine wrote, however, that the company's operating profit margin goal was under threat unless it managed to keep costs down in future.
uhe/jm (Reuters, dpa)