Bild Denies Reports Of Employee Layoffs Replaced With Artificial Intelligence

Illustration of German Tabloid, Bild. (photo: twitter @axelspringer)

JAKARTA - German tabloid company Bild has denied reports that it will terminate employment (PHK) on some editorial teams and replace staff with artificial intelligence (AI) and "automatic processes".

The Guardian and several other media reported on June 21 that Bild's parent company, Axel Springer SE, plans to replace a number of editorial jobs with AI, citing internal emails.

Bild Group's Communications Director, Christian Senft, told Cointelegraph that "the report is not true" and that "with the current steps, we do not intend to replace journalism with AI".

Senft explained that the announcement relates to a restructuring program for regional newspaper editions, which involved reducing from 18 regional editions to 12 by the end of this year, as well as closing 10 of 15 regional offices, with many functions centered in Berlin.

"Therefore, tasks such as secretariats and photo production are no longer needed in these areas," he said, stressing that the reduction in the number of related jobs had nothing to do with AI.

Senft mengkonfirmasi bahwa langkah-langkah ini akan mempengaruhi sejumlah karyawan dalam "tarusan angka". Ia juga menjelaskan bahwa pengumuman tersebut menyatakan bahwa perusahaan akan "semakin menggunakan AI untuk mendukung pekerjaan julistik".

"In this context, we are approaching this topic with an open mind and currently have many initiatives where we explore areas of AI implementation for our journalistic brands, both in the production process of editorial offices and in relationships with reader experience," he added.

"The use of AI creates more time and space for journalistic creativity for editors and reporters. Wherever AI provides support, journalists always have to check and verify the results in Axel Springer," he said.

Bild's daily tabloid was founded in June 1952. In the 1980s, Bild reportedly sold more than five million copies per day. In 2010, Bild's circulation fell to 3.55 million copies, according to the Mondo Times. In 2022, the print newspaper only had a circulation of less than one million, according to Media Impact.

However, the rapid development of AI has raised concerns about future job loss. In May, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Bloomberg that 7,800 jobs in the company could be replaced by AI and automation in the next five years, representing about 30% of its total workforce.

In a report on June 14, management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. predicts that generative AI may be able to fully automate up to 50% of all work activities carried out at work today, including tasks related to decision-making, management, and interacting with stakeholders.

Despite this, the sustainability of AI developments has sparked concerns about the loss of jobs in the future. The use of this technology in the world of journalism has also been in the spotlight, with some concerns about replacing the work of human journalists with AI.

However, Bild has confirmed that they have no intention of replacing journalism with AI. Instead, they see AI as a supporting tool for journalistic work, which can provide more time and space for the creativity of editors and reporters.

Despite this, the development of AI use in the media industry remains an important concern, because of its impact on the work and ethics of journalism.