FRANKFURT -- Bosch expects sales to stagnate this year, CEO Volkmar Denner told a German newspaper, blaming the worsening outlook in the car industry that has also hurt the company's rivals.
In an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Denner said that the group would also not be able to keep 2018's margin level. Last year, Bosch's operating margin stood at 7 percent.
"Our plans foresee a stagnation in vehicle production in the coming years, which is different from the past, when it was usually going up. The tailwind is gone," Denner was quoted as saying, adding jobs would have to be cut.
"There will be consequences for our employees, above all in the diesel plants," Denner said, without being more specific. He said the group would do everything to carry out staff reduction in a socially responsible manner.
Weakness in the car industry has already led Bosch's rivals ZF Friedrichshafen and Continental to issue profit warnings.
Bosch ranks No.1 on the Automotive News Europe list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide sales to automakers of $49.52 billion in 2018.
