Springer-Verlag is extensively expanding its flagship.
(Photo: imago images/Future Image)
Berlin, Dusseldorf The media group Axel Springer is radically reorganizing its core brand “Bild”. The number of regional editions will be reduced by a third: in future there will only be 12 instead of 18 of them. The editor-in-chief of Europe’s largest tabloid newspaper informed the employees on Monday morning by e-mail. The letter is available to the Handelsblatt. The Handelsblatt had already reported on Sunday that such a measure would be taken.
The reorganization will also involve job cuts. “We are parting with products, projects and processes that can never be economically successful again,” the letter says. Springer did not initially give exact figures. According to Handelsblatt information, this should affect employees in a three-digit amount. “We try to avoid redundancies for operational reasons,” explained the editor-in-chief.
Management is also affected by the savings. Management levels should be “severely streamlined”. “The functions of editor-in-chief, editors, proofreaders, secretaries and photo editors will no longer exist as they are today,” the letter reads. The majority of jobs are to be cut in production.
Springer wants to replace the staff it saves with artificial intelligence (AI): AI should soon take over the layout of the printed newspaper completely, writes the editor-in-chief. “Unfortunately, we also have to part with colleagues who have tasks that are replaced by AI and/or processes in the digital world.”
The smaller locations will be closed at the end of the year. “We are currently assuming that the major locations (Hamburg, Leipzig, Essen, Frankfurt and Munich) will be retained,” writes the editor-in-chief. A further “economic optimization of the areas” is reserved. Employees should increasingly work from home in the future.
Axel Springer: “Image” and “World” are among the problem areas
The work processes will also change extensively: In the future, “Bild” wants to report digitally first, and then the printed newspaper will be created from the online articles. The new line-up is to be implemented by January 1, 2024.
The German media business with its brands “Bild” and “Welt” is considered a problem area for the Springer group. While the digital platforms for brokering jobs and real estate are growing, the “Bild” and “Welt” groups are suffering from declining business.
CEO Mathias Döpfner had repeatedly announced that the publishing house would no longer have a printed newspaper in the medium term. “The future of Axel Springer is ‘digital only’,” said the CEO, who has been in office since 2002.
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