BMW’s $1.8 Billion Dividend Draws Scrutiny With Workers in Limbo
- Carmaker should consider lower payout, fund manager DWS says
- CEO Zipse has defended plan despite calls to preserve cash
New automobiles sit in a storage yard outside the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG factory during coronavirus lockdown in Munich.
Photographer: Michaela Handrek-Rehle/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
BMW AG’s plan to pay out $1.8 billion in dividends while the coronavirus crisis drains the German carmaker’s cash reserves is drawing the ire of investors.
BMW should consider a lower payout to protect its balance sheet, Deutsche Bank AG’s fund management arm DWS Group said ahead of the carmaker’s annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. Germany’s DSW investor lobby group said separately it wants BMW to be more frugal, given that it’s asking for state-funded car-buying incentives and is sending thousands of workers home at reduced wages.