Europe’s largest magazine publisher Bauer Media Group will make job cuts as part of a major restructure of its digital businesses in the UK and Germany.
Bauer cited the impact of Google’s AI Overviews reducing clickthroughs to publisher websites as well as “under pressure” and “fragmented” advertising models.
Bauer will shut its digital business in Germany, Bauer Xcel Media Deutschland KG, on 30 September, impacting all of the division’s 160 employees.
In the UK where Bauer publishes titles like Empire, Grazia and Heat, it is proposing to restructure its digital publishing businesses with jobs at risk. A consultation process has begun.
Digiday reported that the cuts could affect up to 30% of all Bauer’s publishing staff.
Bauer said in a statement: “In recent years, the digital publishing environment has changed significantly. Technological disruption, particularly the rapid rise of AI, is reshaping how audiences access content, with users increasingly receiving answers directly via platforms rather than visiting publisher websites.
“At the same time, platform dynamics, user behaviour and monetisation models are evolving. Advertising markets remain under pressure, while affiliate and commerce models are becoming more competitive and fragmented. As a result, it has become increasingly challenging to operate digital publishing businesses profitably at scale.
“In response, Bauer Media Group is proposing to restructure its digital publishing business — integrating digital activities more closely into existing publishing structures and enabling a sharper focus on their portfolio and improved long-term profitability.”
Bauer said it will create “new opportunities in areas aligned with its future focus” as part of the changes and add that it will “continue to invest where sustainable growth potential exists”.
Bauer Xcel Media has been the global division for Bauer’s digital businesses since 2015. In Germany its digital operations will consolidate around food and recipe title Lecker, TV and entertainment guide TV Movie and astrology website Astrowoche, and these will be integrated into the main publishing organisation.
The intention is that any vacancies within Bauer Media Group will mainly be filled with affected Bauer Xcel Media employees.
Digiday also reported that Bauer is focusing on growing revenue from audio and outdoor segments of the company as the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran is driving up magazine production and distribution costs through the impact on global shipping.
‘Shock, sadness, anger’
Ingo Klinge, president of global publishing at Bauer, said: “Our ambition remains unchanged: to strengthen our leadership position in publishing – delivering meaningful value to the audiences we serve – while ensuring long-term success in a rapidly evolving market environment.”
Head of audience development at Bauer’s Xcel Media Germany arm Stephanie Schuricht posted on Linkedin earlier this week: “Yesterday we made it official: Bauer Xcel Media Germany will close on September 30th. 160 people are affected.
“Many of them have become people I genuinely care about over the last year and a half, in Germany and in the UK.
“We had a lot more ahead of us. And I’m proud of every single one of you… Over the past ten years, I’ve led teams through some rough situations as a leader: shaky startups, waiting on investment rounds, COVID, navigating an insolvency while keeping the business running. But the closure of an entire company hits differently.”
Miriam Alina Knufinke, lead SEO manager at Bauer Media Group, posted: “On April 1st, I celebrated ten years @ Bauer Xcel Media. On April 14th, it was announced that the company would be closed by the end of September. I still can’t imagine that from October on I won’t be working with my lovely team anymore… Shock, sadness, anger – we’ve been through many states and emotions over the past days. And the upcoming weeks will remain tough.”
Bauer has 16,000 employees in 14 countries, and featured in fifth place on Press Gazette’s top 50 news media companies in the UK by revenue on €2.2bn (£1.8bn).
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