Should I accept Siemens’ termination agreement offer?

That depends on your age, length of service, chances of winning an unfair dismissal claim, and what comes next for you. Since compulsory redundancies are ruled out, you hold the stronger hand: you don’t have to accept an offer. At the same time, Siemens is currently paying premiums for voluntary departures that won’t be guaranteed later. We’ll assess in a free initial consultation whether accepting, renegotiating, or staying is the better option for you.

Who is most affected by Siemens’ job cuts?

The focus is on the automation division Digital Industries, where around 5,600 jobs worldwide and about 2,600 in Germany are due to go by the end of September 2027 (source: ZDFheute, 18 March 2025). By the end of September 2025, around 450 jobs had already been cut in the charging solutions business (Smart Infrastructure / eMobility), including about 250 in Germany.

What happens to my unemployment benefit if I sign?

A termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag) can trigger a 12-week benefit suspension period (Sperrzeit) under § 159 SGB III if no good cause is documented, and an end date before your ordinary notice period expires can suspend your claim under § 158 SGB III. Both can be managed through how the agreement is worded. Tax matters too: the one-fifth rule (Fünftelregelung) and the payout timing can make a difference of four to five figures on larger packages.

What does advice from you cost?

The initial consultation costs you nothing. If you instruct us, we work on a success basis through litigation funding, so you bear no upfront financial risk.

Severance Pay at Siemens 2026 – Job Cuts, Termination Agreement & Your Rights

Q: Can Siemens give me a compulsory dismissal?

In Germany, compulsory redundancies are largely ruled out under the site and employment protection agreement: Siemens reached an agreement with employee representatives on the job cuts and set up a transformation fund for this purpose (source: Handelsblatt). This means the job cuts have to run through voluntary schemes, which strengthens your negotiating position, since Siemens needs your signature.

Siemens hasn’t published a general severance formula. Since the job cuts run through voluntary schemes and termination agreements, the amount is negotiable case by case. A common reference point is the rule of thumb of 0.5 monthly salaries per year of service, though this isn’t an automatic entitlement. As a pure calculation example: €5,500 gross and 12 years of service would give around €33,000 under this formula. We’ll work with you to assess what’s realistically negotiable in your case.

Reviewed by specialized labor lawyers · Updated: October 2026

In March 2025, Siemens announced plans to cut around 6,050 jobs worldwide, including roughly 2,850 in Germany (source: ZDFheute, 18 March 2025).

The automation division (Digital Industries) is hit hardest: around 5,600 jobs worldwide, including about 2,600 in Germany, are due to be cut by the end of September 2027.

By the end of September 2025, around 450 jobs had already gone in the charging solutions business (Smart Infrastructure / eMobility), including about 250 in Germany.

Compulsory redundancies in Germany are largely ruled out thanks to the site and employment protection agreement: Siemens reached an agreement with employee representatives on the job cuts and set up a transformation fund (source: Handelsblatt).

Because the job cuts have to happen without forced dismissals, the amount of any termination agreement offer is negotiable. The rule of thumb (0.5 monthly salaries per year of service) is only a reference value, not a statutory entitlement.

We review your offer at no upfront cost, on a success basis through litigation funding, with no upfront cost risk to you.

Siemens job cuts 2026: what’s happening right now?

In March 2025, Siemens announced plans to cut around 6,050 jobs worldwide, including about 2,850 in Germany (ZDFheute, 18 March 2025). The focus is on the automation division Digital Industries: around 5,600 jobs worldwide, including about 2,600 in Germany, are due to be cut by the end of September 2027. By the end of September 2025, around 450 jobs had already gone in the charging solutions business (Smart Infrastructure / eMobility), including about 250 in Germany.

Status as of October 2026: This programme is still the governing one. Siemens hasn’t published any new, higher cut figure for Germany since then, and the target date for the Digital Industries cuts remains the end of September 2027. In practice, this means the job cuts are ongoing, not complete, and Siemens still has just under a year left to reach its target.

This timeline is a negotiating factor for you, not just a date on a calendar. Because the job cuts in Germany are meant to happen without compulsory redundancies, Siemens needs voluntary departures to reach its target by the deadline. The closer the deadline gets and the fewer signatures are in, the more expensive each one becomes. An offer made early in the programme is rarely the best offer the programme will produce.

Your rights: social plan, termination agreement, protection against dismissal

For a restructuring of this scale, the employer must negotiate a social plan (Sozialplan) with the works council (Betriebsrat) (§§ 111, 112 BetrVG). It sets out compensation for economic disadvantages, such as severance payments, partial retirement schemes, and transfer arrangements. If a restructuring goes ahead without the employer having attempted to reach an agreement on its implementation (Interessenausgleich) with the works council, a compensation claim for disadvantages (Nachteilsausgleich) may apply (§ 113 BetrVG). A social plan only sets a framework though: an individually offered termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag) can fall below or above it and remains negotiable.

If a compulsory dismissal does happen later, the strict three-week deadline applies: an unfair dismissal claim (Kündigungsschutzklage) must reach the labour court within three weeks of receiving the notice (§ 4 KSchG). After that, the dismissal is treated as valid, no matter how questionable it was. With a large employer like Siemens, this claim is often exactly the lever that gets a severance payment negotiated in the first place.

No threat of dismissal, what that means for you

In Germany, compulsory redundancies are largely ruled out under the site and employment protection agreement, though such agreements can contain opt-out clauses. Siemens reached an agreement with employee representatives on the job cuts and set up a transformation fund for this purpose (Handelsblatt).

For those affected, this means you are not under threat of dismissal, and you don’t have to accept a termination agreement offer. Because Siemens still needs to reach its target, the company is paying for voluntary departures. That’s your negotiating position. An offer that looks “generous” isn’t automatically the maximum, so it’s worth having it checked.

Received a Siemens offer? Get it checked before you sign

Things worth checking: the amount relative to your age, length of service, and chances of winning a claim, the benefit suspension risk (Sperrzeit) for unemployment benefit (§§ 158, 159 SGB III), the waiver and settlement clauses (bonuses, variable pay, company pension), and the tax treatment: for larger packages, the payout timing determines how the one-fifth rule (Fünftelregelung) applies. Upload your document, the critical points will be flagged, at no cost.

To see how a very long length of service factors into assessing an offer, our page on severance pay after 30 years with the same employer walks through the calculation step by step.

How it works with us

A free initial consultation, an assessment of your offer by our partner law firm specialising in employment law, and if you instruct us, negotiation funded through litigation financing, with no upfront financial risk to you. Here’s how the cost model works.

Please note: Team Abfindung is an independent provider and has no connection to Siemens AG.

Frequently asked questions