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This article is also available in German: Bosch schließt in Sofia, Liebherr baut in Plovdiv: Was sich bei deutschen Investitionen in Bulgarien gerade ändert
In early July 2026 it emerged that Bosch is closing its engineering center in Sofia by mid-2027, with about 670 jobs lost. Only three months earlier, Liebherr had announced almost €90 million for a new plant near Plovdiv, with up to 600 jobs making components for Airbus and Embraer aircraft. Sofia and Plovdiv are about 140 kilometres apart.
Add the largest German industrial project of recent years: the ammunition plant planned by Rheinmetall and the state-owned VMZ. Signed in October 2025, it has been back on the negotiating table since July 2026.
So has Bulgaria suddenly become less attractive to German companies? The short answer: no. But what German firms come here for is shifting. We look at the three cases, with figures, history and what they mean for you if you are thinking about production or a team in Bulgaria.
Bosch has been in Bulgaria since 1993, at first through its subsidiary Robert Bosch EOOD. BSH Home Appliances followed in 2010 (SeeNews).
The software focus came through an acquisition. In 2015 Bosch bought the IoT specialist ProSyst, with sites in Cologne and Sofia (Invest Sofia). It became, by a roundabout route, today's Bosch Digital.
In October 2019 Bosch opened its engineering center in Sofia Tech Park. It started with 200 people, and more than 500 were planned by 2023 (Sofia Tech Park, BNR). The teams developed software for driver assistance, automated driving and e-mobility.
The state backed the project with a Class A investment certificate: almost BGN 9 million of investment and 350 jobs (InvestBulgaria). The Bosch Group's headcount in Bulgaria grew from 690 at the end of 2021 to 850 at the end of 2022 and 1,002 at the end of 2023 (SeeNews).
Around the turn of June and July 2026 came the reversal (media date the announcement to 1 July, the EU agency Eurofound to 2 July). The center closes by mid-2027: about 400 jobs go in 2026 and the rest by mid-2027 (BTA). With just over 1,000 employees in the country, that is about two thirds (BNR).
Bosch cites falling vehicle production in Europe, slower adoption of e-mobility and autonomous driving, high costs and demand moving away from Europe. Note that Sofia is a small item in this picture. Eurofound classes the closure as part of Bosch's global reduction programme, which covers roughly 13,000 jobs in Europe alone by 2030 (Eurofound).
The comparison with Romania is telling. Bosch's engineering center in Cluj, founded in 2013 and much larger at about 1,500 employees, continues to operate (Economedia). When a group consolidates, the older and larger sites are more likely to survive.
In Bulgaria, sales, service and training remain for automotive spare parts, power tools, heating technology and building technology. BSH stays too, as does Bosch Digital with about 300 software specialists for cloud, IoT and AI (BTA).
A small clarification first: Liebherr is a family-owned company with German roots, but its group headquarters is in Switzerland and its aerospace division is run from Toulouse. For a reader from Germany, Austria or Switzerland it is still the most obvious example.
The third point is the real story. Liebherr is gradually moving truck-mixer and mixing-plant production from Bad Schussenried to Plovdiv. According to the 2025 annual report, this covers not only production but also development, production-related tasks and administration (Liebherr annual report, in German).
A Liebherr finance chief said in an interview that about 350 jobs are moving to Bulgaria, and that Germany is no longer the optimal location for these products (Schwäbische Zeitung, in German).
In spring 2025 Liebherr paid €35 million for a brand-new, never-used e-bike factory near Plovdiv. It had been built by an Austrian-Bulgarian joint venture of Pierer and Maxcom, which fell victim to the bicycle slump (Capital, BCCI).
The details followed in March 2026. Liebherr is investing almost €90 million in total, in a 42,000 m² hall for two companies (BNR). Aviation parts will be made in Bulgaria for the first time: actuators for flight controls and landing gear, shafts for wing mechanisms and air-conditioning units for aircraft.
On 24 March 2026 the state granted a priority-project certificate for the plant. About 200 jobs are planned at first, with potential for up to 600. Liebherr also intends to manufacture, test and develop on site and plans its own research and development center (InvestBulgaria).
The first line was due to start in May 2026, with full capacity planned for mid-2027. We could not confirm that the first line has actually started; these are planned figures. Liebherr gives rising demand, the cost-effective capabilities of the site and dual sourcing for a more secure supply chain as its reasons (Liebherr).
On 28 October 2025 Rheinmetall and the Bulgarian state-owned VMZ signed a shareholders' agreement in Sofia. The plan: a joint venture (Rheinmetall 51%, VMZ 49%) worth about €1 billion on roughly 100 hectares near Sopot, with about 1,000 jobs (Rheinmetall, in German).
The plant was meant to produce about 100,000 155 mm artillery shells a year, plus propellant charges and about 1,300 tonnes of powder. Shell casings were planned from 2027 and explosives from 2028.
A new government took office in May 2026. In July, Economy Minister Alexander Pulev called the project into question (Capital). His criticisms:
The previous government disagrees and points to a finished but never adopted budget draft. According to Capital, about €40 million has already flowed to Rheinmetall through a state project company, for plant planning.
On 23 July 2026 the government and Rheinmetall met again. The result: talks effectively start from scratch, and Rheinmetall reaffirms its interest (BNR). How it continues is open as of today. Even the minister expects that the original timetable cannot be kept.
German companies are not withdrawing from Bulgaria. They are reshuffling: less automotive software in Sofia, more demanding manufacturing around Plovdiv. Whether that is a step up or down the value chain is the interesting question.
| Company | Location | Activity | Direction | Status October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bosch | Sofia | Automotive software, R&D | Reduction | Running until mid-2027 |
| Bosch Digital | Sofia | IoT, cloud, AI | Stable | About 300 employees |
| Liebherr | Plovdiv | Aviation and rail technology: manufacturing, testing, development | Expansion | Ramp-up, full capacity mid-2027 (planned) |
| Liebherr | Plovdiv | Concrete mixers: manufacturing and development moved from Germany | Expansion | Relocation expected to run to 2028 |
| Witte Automotive | Ruse | Automotive locking systems | Expansion | Expansion completed 2025 |
| Aurubis | Pirdop | Copper refining | Expansion | Expansion under way, start planned for 2026 |
| Rheinmetall / VMZ | Sopot | Ammunition, propellants | Open | Renegotiation |
The table shows announced figures, not realised ones. At Liebherr, 200 jobs are committed and 600 is the target. At Rheinmetall it is open whether the 1,000 will come at all.
The car industry itself is not dying here, then. Witte Automotive expanded its plant in Ruse in 2025, with more than 300 new jobs on top of 1,160 employees (BTA). What is shrinking is automotive development in group subsidiaries, not automotive manufacturing.
The stock of German direct investment stood at €4.109 billion at the start of 2024 (Presidency) and €4.129 billion in mid-2025 (Government). That is practically unchanged. With trade of more than €12 billion in 2024, Germany remains Bulgaria's most important trading partner.
One of the largest German investors, incidentally, is not a car supplier but the copper group Aurubis. A programme of about BGN 800 million, roughly €400 million, is under way in Pirdop (BTA).
The strongest counterargument to the success story: Sofia loses well-paid software jobs, while Plovdiv mostly gains lower-cost manufacturing. That looks more like a step backwards.
Against that, aviation is one of the most demanding industries there is, and Liebherr is bringing not only manufacturing but also development to Bulgaria. Our assessment: it is a shift into other segments, not an equivalent replacement, at least until 2027.
If you are weighing Bulgaria as a company, five points follow from the three cases:
All information as of 8 October 2026. Figures come from company statements, government releases and media reports; every source is linked directly in the text. Announced investments and jobs are planned figures, not realised ones.
This article is for general information and is not legal, tax or investment advice. For decisions about a location or company formation in Bulgaria, consult qualified advisers.
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