{"text":[[{"start":10.12,"text":"BMW will step up its restructuring measures after quarterly profits slumped amid an ongoing sales slide in China, with further weakness forecast."}],[{"start":17.4,"text":"The German carmaker became the latest to downgrade its financial targets for the year — its second cut since June — as the global automotive industry grappled with a downturn in the world’s largest car market and higher costs triggered by US tariffs and the Iran war."}],[{"start":33.48,"text":"Operating profit fell 30 per cent to €1.6bn in the July to September quarter compared with the same period last year — slightly higher than analyst expectations of €1.5bn. Revenue declined 6 per cent to €30bn as sales in China tumbled by a quarter year on year."}],[{"start":52.8,"text":"“Current developments in our industry call for decisiveness and swift implementation. We will therefore specifically intensify and accelerate structural measures,” chief executive Milan Nedeljković said on Wednesday."}],[{"start":65.76,"text":"Following a downgrade late on Tuesday, BMW now expects a core operating margin of minus 0.5 per cent to 0.5 per cent, compared with its earlier forecast of between 1 and 3 per cent. In the third quarter, its margin for the core automotive segment stood at 3.4 per cent."}],[{"start":83.96,"text":"BMW said it would accelerate the reduction in management functions and phase out older models earlier than planned."}],[{"start":90.44,"text":"In late September the company outlined plans to cut more than 100 managers, on top of reducing about 8,000 back-office jobs, or about 5 per cent of its workforce."}],[{"start":100.68,"text":"Unlike larger rival Volkswagen, which plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs in Germany over the coming years, BMW is not reducing its domestic assembly line workforce."}],[{"start":110.88,"text":"The company has invested €2bn in Germany, including its Munich and Dingolfing plants and a new battery facility in Bavaria, as it commences production of the eighth-generation 3 Series — its best-selling range."}],[{"start":123.48,"text":"BMW shares have fallen almost 40 per cent this year, slightly worse than VW’s 35 per cent tumble."}],[{"start":135.11,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793784716_4060.mp3"}