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Microbial populations are a promising model for achieving microbial cooperation to produce valuable chemicals. However, regulating the phenotypic structure of microbial populations remains challenging. In this study, a programmed lysis system (PLS) is developed to reprogram microbial cooperation to enhance chemical production. First, a colicin M -based lysis unit is constructed to lyse <i>Escherichia coli</i>. Next, a programmed switch, based on proteases, is designed to regulate the effective lysis unit time. Finally, a PLS is constructed for chemical production by combining the lysis unit with a programmed switch. As a result, poly (lactate-<i>co</i>-3-hydroxybutyrate) production is switched from PLH synthesis to PLH release, and the content of free PLH is increased 283%. Furthermore, butyrate production with <i>E. coli</i> consortia is switched from <i>E. coli </i>BUT003 to <i>E. coli</i> BUT004, thereby increasing butyrate production to 41.61 g/L. These results indicate the applicability of engineered microbial populations for improving the metabolic division of labor to increase the efficiency of microbial cell factories.