The RTL management wants to hold on to almost all titles - in addition to the flagship "Stern", for example, also the "Geo" and "Brigitte" family, reported the media portal Meedia on Monday. The news agency Reuters also learned from publishing circles that it "probably won't be quite so bad". Nevertheless, job cuts in the three-digit range are likely, according to several sources. RTL did not want to comment on this and pointed out that RTL boss Thomas Rabe wanted to inform the workforce about his plans on Tuesday morning at Hamburg's Baumwall.

The parent company Bertelsmann and its TV subsidiary RTL Group had announced in 2021 that RTL Deutschland and Gruner+Jahr would be merged in 2022. In the meantime, many Gruner+Jahr executives have left the company. Top managers from Gütersloh and Cologne have recently taken a close look at all publishing titles and examined what should be kept and what should possibly be sold. Rabe, who is currently also the CEO of Bertelsmann, RTL Group and RTL Germany, has emphasized that resources must be reallocated and structures questioned for the planned investments in the important streaming business. "The magazine business, for example, is currently under particular pressure," Rabe said in an internal interview in the fall. "That's why we will review the title portfolio and only merge those titles with RTL that are truly synergetic."

There was increased unease among employees when the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported shortly before Christmas, citing potential buyers, that negotiations were already underway with interested publishers to purchase magazines such as "Brigitte", "Gala" and "Schöner Wohnen".

Rabe wants to outline the future of the media group in several information rounds with managers, the works council and the entire workforce in Hamburg and Cologne. Observers expect that there could also be a cost-cutting course with job losses for RTL. Rabe will also meet with Hamburg's head of government Peter Tschentscher and media senator Carsten Brosda. The Gruner+Jahr titles and the workforce "are among the best there is in journalism," explained Brosda. "I very much hope that this value will also be recognized by the parent company - not only economically, but also socially and publicly."

The trade union Verdi is demanding a clear commitment to the strength of Gruner+Jahr from the manager. "We expect a media company like Bertelsmann and its long-standing CEO Rabe to recognize the full potential of a publishing house and its employees and not to sell off titles and brands," explained Verdi expert Tina Fritsche.

(Report by Klaus Lauer; edited by Hans Seidenstücker - If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets)).