Bosch Is Closing Its Sofia Center — 670 Jobs Gone by 2027
Bosch will close its Sofia Engineering Center by mid-2027, cutting 670 jobs as part of a global plan to eliminate 22,000 mobility division positions by 2030 amid declining vehicle production and industry transformation.
- 1Bosch announced on June 30, 2026 the closure of its Sofia Engineering Center by mid-2027, affecting 670 employees who will receive six gross monthly salaries in severance.
- 2The closure follows a phased schedule with 400 jobs eliminated in 2026 and the remaining 270 by mid-2027.
- 3The Sofia closure is part of Bosch cutting 22,000 mobility division jobs globally by 2030, on top of 9,000 already announced since early 2024.
- 4Bosch generated global sales of 91 billion euros in 2025 with an EBIT margin from operations around 2 percent, while worldwide headcount fell by 5,400.
- 5The Sofia center opened in 2019 and generated 76.7 million euros in revenue in 2024, though sources do not document its comparative performance or profitability.
The Full Investigation
6 sections · 4 min read
The Closure Announcement and Timeline
Bosch announced the decision to close its Engineering Center in Sofia by mid-2027 on June 30, 2026, according to multiple Bulgarian outlets including the state news agency Bulgarian Telegraph Agency, as well as industry publication MarkLines. Approximately 670 employees will be affected by the closure.
The company will implement the closure in two phases. Bosch will reduce 400 jobs in 2026, according to Capital.bg, targeting those without contractual work in the first phase. The remaining 270 jobs will be eliminated by mid-2027. All affected employees will receive compensation of six gross monthly salaries, according to Capital.bg and DBR.bg.
Available sources did not document any response from workers, unions, or Bulgarian government officials to the closure announcement.
Open: The response from workers, unions, or Bulgarian government officials to the closure announcement
Stated Reasons for the Sofia Closure
According to Novinite.com, CEO Dan Lazarescu cited declining vehicle production, delayed EV adoption, and demand shifting outside Europe as reasons for the closure. Novinite.com also reported that Bosch describes the restructuring as necessary to ensure sustainability in a rapidly evolving industry marked by high costs and strong competition.
According to MarkLines, the closure is part of Bosch's global consolidation of engineering operations to align capacity with current and projected changing market demands. The Bulgarian Telegraph Agency reported that the automotive industry is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in its history, requiring strategic decisions for long-term competitiveness. BTA also reported that the automotive sector faces challenges from declining automotive production, shifting requirements, and lack of clear regulatory framework for hydrogen.
According to BTA, Bosch stated it remains committed to Bulgaria through its automotive equipment, power tools, and Home Comfort divisions after the Engineering Center closure. BTA reported that the closure process will be managed with social responsibility and cooperation with local institutions.
Open: Whether the Sofia center was unprofitable or underperforming relative to other Bosch engineering facilities, as no sources document comparative operational metrics; What alternative strategies, if any, Bosch evaluated before deciding to close the Sofia center
The Sofia Center's Brief History
The Bosch Sofia Engineering Center opened in 2019 and generated revenue of 76.7 million euros in 2024, according to Capital.bg and DBR.bg. According to DBR.bg, the restructuring in Bulgaria follows a model already tested by Bosch in Romania.
Available sources do not document the Sofia center's profitability, performance benchmarks relative to other Bosch engineering facilities, or whether it met its business plan targets.
Open: Whether the Sofia center was unprofitable or underperforming relative to other Bosch engineering facilities, as no sources document comparative operational metrics; What alternative strategies, if any, Bosch evaluated before deciding to close the Sofia center
Bosch's Global Restructuring
The Sofia closure is part of sweeping job cuts across Bosch's mobility division. On September 25, 2025, Bosch announced plans to cut an additional 13,000 jobs in its mobility division, bringing the total to 22,000 positions by the end of 2030 when combined with 9,000 jobs already announced, according to Electrive.com and SWR Aktuell. According to Electrive.com, Bosch's mobility division recently employed 70,000 people in Germany.
According to SWR Aktuell, since early 2024, Bosch Mobility has cut 9,000 positions, with about half already realized by September 2025. According to Electrive.com, locations in Stuttgart-Feuerbach, Schwieberdingen, Waiblingen, Bühl, and Homburg are particularly affected by the job cuts. SWR Aktuell reported that Bosch's Waiblingen plant production of connection technology will be fully closed by the end of 2028, affecting 560 jobs.
In December 2023, Reuters reported that Bosch announced the need to cut up to 1,500 jobs at Feuerbach and Schwieberdingen sites by the end of 2025. Reuters reported the 2023 job cuts were needed due to the order situation, structural changes in the drive sector, and market penetration of future technologies. Bosch tried to achieve the 2023 job cuts through moving staff, early retirement, or voluntary redundancy, Reuters reported.
According to Electrive.com, stagnation in the global automotive market and increasing competition from Chinese suppliers were cited as reasons for Bosch's job cuts.
Open: Whether the Sofia center was unprofitable or underperforming relative to other Bosch engineering facilities, as no sources document comparative operational metrics; What alternative strategies, if any, Bosch evaluated before deciding to close the Sofia center
Bosch's Financial Performance
Bosch generated global sales of 91 billion euros in 2025 with an EBIT margin from operations around 2 percent, according to Bosch's official press release dated May 8, 2026. Bosch's worldwide headcount fell by 5,400 to 412,400 associates at the end of 2025, according to the same release. The number of Bosch associates in Germany fell by 6,500 to around 123,100 in 2025.
According to DBR.bg, Bosch's annual profit collapsed by 45 percent, though the source does not specify the period referenced. Bosch's official 2025 financial release does not provide profit figures that confirm this claim.
Open: Whether the Sofia center was unprofitable or underperforming relative to other Bosch engineering facilities, as no sources document comparative operational metrics; What alternative strategies, if any, Bosch evaluated before deciding to close the Sofia center
Broader Automotive Supplier Restructuring
The Sofia closure occurs against a backdrop of industry-wide contraction among European automotive suppliers. German auto supplier ZF cut 11,200 full-time employees since the beginning of 2024, with another 4,700 in partial retirement, according to Reuters reporting dated July 31, 2025. ZF's sales fell to 19.7 billion euros in the first half of 2025 from 22 billion euros in the prior year, Reuters reported.
Reuters also reported that ZF is assessing every product group on whether it is earning its capital costs, which will result in product program adjustments. This pattern of job cuts and plant closures extends across multiple major suppliers facing similar margin pressures and market shifts.
Open: What severance or transition support Romanian workers received under the restructuring model that Bulgaria is following