In March 2015, the U.S. Justice Department said Robert Bosch GmbH agreed to plead guilty and pay a $57.8 million criminal fine over alleged conspiracies involving bids and prices for spark plugs, oxygen sensors and starter motors. The charge described conduct spanning 2000–2011 for some parts and 2009–2010 for starter motors; the plea remained subject to court approval.
According to the one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan, Bosch conspired to allocate the supply of, rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, spark plugs and oxygen sensors sold to automobile and internal combustion engine manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company and Andreas Stihl AG & Co., among others, in the United States and elsewhere. Bosch’s involvement in the conspiracy lasted from at least as early as January 2000 until at least July 2011. Bosch is also charged with participating in a conspiracy to allocate the supply of, rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, starter motors sold to Volkswagen AG and certain of its subsidiaries in the United States from at least as early as January 2009 until at least June 2010. Bosch has agreed to cooperate in the department’s ongoing investigation. The plea agreement will be subject to court approval.
On 3 March 2022, Bosch announced plans to cut 70–160 jobs at its Murrhardt, Germany, site, where Power Tools and Rexroth make industrial tools and related products. Management cited long-running competition and price pressure linked to high production costs. IG Metall said Bosch intended to move some production to Eastern Europe. The final job count and timing were undecided as of March 2022.
The German company Bosch announced that it would cut up to 160 jobs at its sites in Murrhardt (Baden-Wurttemberg) were Bosch Power Tools and Bosch Rexroth produce, among others, pneumatic and cordless industrial tools as well as scewing technology. The management declared that the Murrhardt location has been facing competition and price preassure for years due to high production costs at the sites. According to the union IG Metall Bosch intends to relocate parts of the production to Eastern Europe, without specifying were exactly. As of March 2022, the final decision on the number of job cuts and the timing of the measure has not been taken yet. Management and unions are negotiating.
In March 2022, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba alleged Bosch parts were found in Russian military vehicles. German authorities reportedly referred possible EU sanctions violations for investigation. Bosch said it had opened its own inquiry and described the parts as ordinary commercial-vehicle control units. The company also said it had stopped deliveries and new spare-parts orders in Russia.
Bosch said that it has begun its own investigation into the allegations, and told Der Spiegel that the parts are "ordinary control units for commercial vehicles."
Bosch informed employee representatives on 20 January 2026 that it would close its automotive-components plant in Moulins-Yzeure, France, by the end of 2026; production could stop as early as June. The site employs 270 people and makes braking systems. Bosch cited falling orders, sector overcapacity, competition and weaker electromobility, and said negotiations on a social plan were expected to begin in February.
Updated, 20/01/2026: Bosch has announced the closure of its automotive components plant in Moulins-Yzeure, France. The decision was communicated to employee representatives during an extraordinary works council meeting on 20 January. The site, which employs 270 workers, is scheduled to close by the end of 2026, although production may cease as early as June 2026: Bosch 2026 - FR.
Bosch announced plans to eliminate about 13,000 jobs, mainly in its Mobility division, over several years and by the end of 2030. The company cited a €2.5 billion annual cost gap, weak demand and competitive pressure; it also plans productivity measures including greater AI use. Cuts are expected across Germany and other European operations. Works councils and IG Metall opposed the measures, while Bosch said it would seek socially responsible and
Germany’s Robert Bosch said it plans to slash 13,000 jobs over the next five years, as one of the world’s largest car-parts suppliers leans into artificial intelligence to maximize productivity.
Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, has announced a major restructuring that will result in the elimination of about 13,000 jobs in Europe by the end of 2030.
U.S. authorities said Bosch subsidiaries exported more than $70 million in sensors and software to Huawei without required licenses from 2020 to 2024. Bosch self-disclosed, cooperated and remediated; DOJ declined prosecution, while Bosch agreed to disgorge $11.43 million in profits and its subsidiary-related civil settlement with Commerce was $36.18 million. Bosch called the violations unintentional.
Between September 2020 to September 2024, Bosch, through two of its non-U.S. based subsidiaries, exported over $70 million worth of foreign-produced Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems sensor products and foreign-produced software to Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and its affiliates on the Entity List, including Huawei Tech. Investment Co. Ltd. Hong Kong (collectively, Huawei) without the required license or authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) in violation of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), 15 C.F.R. Parts 730-744. The two implicated subsidiaries are Bosch Sensortec GmbH (BST) and ETAS GmbH (ETAS). In particular, BST and ETAS provided to Huawei foreign-produced items that were subject to the EAR pursuant to the Entity List Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) for entities designated with “Footnote 1.” The investigation further revealed that Bosch’s trade compliance personnel were ill-equipped to provide accurate guidance on the FDPR, which led to several years of FDPR violations. In addition, the investigation identified ongoing sales in violation of the FDPR despite several missed opportunities where third-party companies identified potential applications of the FDPR to their products or equipment used in the provision of their services. As a result, Bosch made approximately $11,430,098 in pre-tax profits.
Two non-U.S. Bosch subsidiaries exported the goods and software between 2020 and 2024 on over 100 occasions without a license, according to a settlement agreement between the Commerce Department and Bosch.
A collective agreement effective from January 2024 covers 80,000 employees at Bosch Mobility locations in Germany. Bosch Mobility and IG Metall agreed to involve employees and works councils in strategic and economic planning and to rule out compulsory redundancies through December 2027. Eurofound reports that the agreement supports planning for the green and digital transformations.
The IG Metall trade union has concluded a "future collective agreement" with Bosch Mobility to secure the company's future in the transformation process. Bosch Mobility is one of the largest suppliers for the automotive sector and therefore strongly affected by the challenges of the green transition. The agreement includes measures to increase the involvement of employees and the works council in the company's economic and strategic planning. In addition, it has been agreed that there will be no compulsory redundancies until the end of 2027, ensuring financial stability for employees. The collective agreement came into force at the beginning of 2024.
The U.S. Justice Department’s case page for United States v. Robert Bosch GmbH identifies the matter as “Customer, Territorial or Market Allocation - Horizontal.” The supplied evidence provides no further account of the allegations, procedural history or outcome.
Customer, Territorial or Market Allocation - Horizontal
Bosch announced on 31 January 2024 that it planned to cut 560 jobs at its Power Tools division in Leinfelden-Echterdingen by the end of 2025. The cuts would mainly affect research and development and administration. Bosch said it aimed to avoid compulsory redundancies, offering retirement schemes, severance agreements or transfers; some work was to move abroad. The German Metalworkers’ Union said it would not accept the decision.
At the end of January 2024, it was reported that German engineering and technology company Bosch will cut 560 jobs at its Power Tool Division in Leinfelden-Echterdingen. Job cuts are to be realised by the end of 2025.
In 2012, the FTC approved a settlement over Robert Bosch GmbH’s acquisition of SPX’s service business, which the agency said risked creating a virtual monopoly in vehicle air-conditioning service equipment. Bosch agreed to sell its repair-equipment business, including RTI Technologies, to Mahle Clevite, and to abandon claims seeking injunctions over SPX’s alleged failure to license standard-essential patents on FRAND terms.
The FTC approved an order settling charges that Robert Bosch GmbH’s acquisition of the SPX Service Solutions business of SPX Corporation would have given it a virtual monopoly in the market for air conditioning recycling, recovery, and recharge devices for vehicles. Under a settlement with the FTC, Bosch agreed to sell its automotive air conditioner repair equipment business, including RTI Technologies, Inc., to automotive equipment manufacturer, Mahle Clevite, Inc. Bosch also agreed to resolve allegations that, before its acquisition by Bosch, SPX harmed competition in the market for this equipment by reneging on a commitment to license key, standard-essential patents (SEPs) on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. The FTC alleged that SPX reneged on its obligation to license on FRAND terms by seeking injunctions against willing licensees of those patents. Bosch has agreed to abandon these claims for injunctive relief.
OpenSecrets reports $31,953 in 2024-cycle political contributions associated with Robert Bosch GmbH, including $13,046 to Kamala Harris and $2,953 to Donald Trump. It says the money came entirely from individuals—including members, employees, owners and their immediate family members—not from the organization itself; the report includes subsidiaries and affiliates.
OpenSecrets lists $630,000 in lobbying spending for Robert Bosch GmbH in 2024 and $1,050,000 in 2023. The page also shows $31,953 and the rankings “1,151 of 9,200 in 2024” and “11,183 of 40,455”; the supplied evidence does not identify the periods or measures for all figures.
In a statement dated May 12, 2023, Bosch said it maintains policies and procedures for export-control compliance and uses customer due diligence, including checks for red flags such as unusually large orders. The company said complex supply chains can make end use difficult to track, and described preventing sanctions violations as a goal.
Bosch has instituted and maintains policies and procedures reasonably designed to meet and achieve regulatory compliance requirements, applicable export control laws and regulations, including sanctions and prohibited circumvention. With respect to preventing prohibited circumvention activities, we use a due diligence approach. This includes potentially critical aspects in our relationship with new and existing customers, so-called red flags, e.g., as extraordinarily high order quantities, and also take market developments into consideration.