Pulev Pledges Full Support for the German Bosch Group in Bulgaria

The government is ready to help the German Bosch Group “in any way we can” to stimulate the company’s investment and growth in Bulgaria. This became clear from the remarks of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Alexander Pulev following his meeting on Monday with Dan Lazarescu, CEO of “Robert Bosch” EOOD and representative of the Bosch Group for Bulgaria.

Their meeting followed the German company’s decision, announced two weeks ago, to close the “Bosch Engineering Center Sofia” – one of the symbols of Bulgaria’s high-value-added R&D sector.

We want to help you in any way we can. If we can support your current activities or provide incentives for future growth, we are ready to mobilize all possible tools to assist German investors, including Bosch,” Pulev said, as quoted by the Ministry of Economy’s press office.

During the meeting, Dan Lazarescu explained that the decision to close the R&D center in Sofia and cut 400 jobs in 2026 and another 250 or so in 2027 was not made on the spur of the moment, but was the result of a lengthy analysis.

We have been discussing the situation in Sofia very intensively for several months. We are currently implementing structural changes that affect various engineering centers across Europe,” said the CEO of Robert Bosch EOOD.

Speaking on behalf of the Bosch Group’s management, he stated that the company remains committed to Bulgaria in the long term and will continue to develop its key operations here. The focus will remain on local sales, customer service, and training for “Automotive Equipment,” “Power Tools,” Home Comfort, and “Building Technology” as part of “Robert Bosch” EOOD and “BSH Home Appliances Bulgaria” EOOD, as well as providing comprehensive digital solutions for the Bosch Group through “Bosch Digital” EOOD.

Lazarescu emphasized that the company will maintain a significant presence in Bulgaria through both its sales and its digital activities; at “Bosch Digital” alone, approximately 300 highly qualified specialists will continue to work in the country on high-tech projects related to software development, cloud technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
The center’s R&D activities are linked to the automotive industry in Europe, which is currently in the midst of a “perfect storm.”

The decline in production volumes on the Old Continent, combined with the unexpected and sharp slowdown in the market penetration of electric vehicles and autonomous driving technologies, is forcing companies like Bosch to cut costs.

Alexander Pulev emphasized that the automotive industry is among the most important strategic sectors for the Bulgarian economy and that the development of engineering centers is crucial to the country’s competitiveness.

The automotive sector in Bulgaria is largely dependent on the development of the German automotive industry. “We started almost from scratch, building expertise in the automotive sector. Today, it accounts for over 10% of Bulgaria’s gross domestic product, making it of exceptional importance to the country,” the minister said.

According to him, nearly 40 R&D centers are already operating in Bulgaria, which requires the state to support the preservation and development of high-tech activities.

We must ensure that this highly skilled workforce adapts to the new realities. We want not only to maintain our ties with the German automotive industry, but also to deepen them,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized.

Translated with DeepL.