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The Financial Times is reporting that BMW is planning its first big job cuts, with up to 8,000 posts likely to go, many of them in Germany. The newspaper says that BMW shareholders have become unhappy at the returns the group is getting in comparison to its arch-rival, Daimler.

BMW confirmed that it was likely to cut "thousands of jobs" starting from next year.

BMW's return on sales reported in its latest quarterly results was 5.4 per cent, against the 9.5 per cent achieved by the Mercedes operations at Daimler. Some have also criticised the group for remaining too German in its operations, and any cuts would be likely to concentrate on the German carmaking plants.

Any job cuts while the group remains profitable would be likely to come under severe criticism in Germany, however, where there has been something of a backlash in recent years against shareholders who exert their demands for greater dividends from profitable companies against the rights of workers.

BMW has a record of close collaboration with its workforce, and would be bound under German law to consult its unions before making any move.