As part of a revamp of Germany's largest daily title, Bild, artificial intelligence will take over a slew of editorial positions.
The tabloid newspaper is experiencing considerable operational changes as a result of the publisher's vow to turn the brand "digital only."
Axel Springer, the German publishing group that owns Bild, informed employees on June 19 that redundancies, anticipated to number in the hundreds, will be implemented.
According to an email acquired by the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine, the firm claimed it will "part ways with colleagues whose jobs will be replaced by AI and/or automated processes in the digital world, or who do not find themselves in this new line-up with their current skills."
“Roles such as editors, print production journalists, proofreaders, photo editors, and assistants will no longer exist like they do today.”
The move also comes amid cuts to regional titles and the shutting of smaller newsrooms.
Axel Springer is Europe’s largest publisher and acquired U.S. news titles, Politico and Business Insider in 2021.
In March, CEO and publisher Döpfner issued a stark warning to staff on the impact of AI.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to make independent journalism better than it ever was—or simply replace it,” he said in an internal letter to employees.
“Understanding this change is essential to a publishing house’s future viability,” Döpfner added. “Only those who create the best original content will survive.”
The German Journalists Association was outraged by the recent revisions.
“If Mathias Döpfner wants to slaughter the cash cow of the group, that’s not only unfair to the employees but also economically extremely stupid,” said Frank Überall, federal chairman of the Association, in comments from The Telegraph.
“Less regional reporting means less service for the readers and therefore fewer readers.”
