{
  "id": 15756033,
  "title": "Automotive industry: Severance program closed: Thousands want to leave BMW – not everyone is allowed to",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/autoindustrie-abfindungsprogramm-geschlossen-tausende-wollen-bmw",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-20T14:54:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/autobauer-tausende-wollen-bmw-verlassen-abfindungsprogramm-geschlossen/100263648.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "BMW has closed its severance program, launched less than two weeks ago, after several thousand employees expressed interest in leaving the company. The automaker confirmed on Tuesday that it had reached its target, but declined to provide a specific number. The program, which aims to conclude by mid-next month, allows employees to know if they can sign a termination agreement, but does not guarantee their departure by then. The program requires both employee and employer consent, and was offered to tens of thousands of BMW employees. The program's online portal initially crashed due to high demand, preventing many employees from accessing their severance offers.",
  "summary": "The demand for the car manufacturer's structural program is high. So high that it will now be ended prematurely. BMW is offering employees generous terms for their departure.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Automaker: Severance program closed: Thousands want to leave BMW – not everyone is allowed to",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/autohersteller-abfindungsprogramm-geschlossen-tausende-wollen-bmw",
        "published": "2026-10-20T13:48:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}