The Axel Springer media group is cutting jobs in its “Bild” and “Welt” brands. “There will be a significant reduction in jobs in the areas of production, layout, correction and administration,” said CEO Mathias Döpfner in a letter to employees on Tuesday that was available to the German Press Agency.
The Springer boss explained: “We will create and cut jobs at the same time. There will be a volunteer program for this.” The 60-year-old also wrote: “We try to avoid redundancies.” Specific numbers were not given.
Regarding the German media business of the group based in Berlin, it said: “In order to remain economically successful in the future, our earnings in the German media business must improve by around 100 million euros over the next three years. Through increases in sales, but also through cost reductions.”
Regarding the future focal points of the brands, Döpfner emphasized: “Reach is the top priority for “Bild”. For “Welt” it’s well-paid and durable digital subscriptions.”
The job cuts had been indicated for some time. The background is a strategy project in the national media business segment (News Media National). The structures have been reviewed since autumn with a view to the accelerated change in the media industry.
Springer boss Döpfner recently explained in a dpa interview that the group would also be separating employees as part of the future structure of the two brands.
The group currently employs around 18,000 people worldwide. These include 3,400 journalists, an increasing number of them in the USA.
Springer exceeded its economic targets in 2022 despite inflation, the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine. Döpfner said in the dpa interview: “After 2021, we had double-digit organic sales growth for the second time in a row.” The company hasn’t had that in four decades. Sales were therefore around 3.9 billion euros, the bottom line is around three quarters of a billion in profit.
85 percent of sales and more than 95 percent of profits come from the digital business. The group wants to say goodbye to the printed newspaper business and become a purely digital company. Springer sees a large growth market in the USA.
The group withdrew from the stock market in 2020 and had previously entered into a cooperation with the US financial investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) for accelerated growth. KKR owns a large stake in Springer.
