40 employees affected: “Kurier” is cutting staff and choosing a new editor-in-chief

On Tuesday, up to 40 employees were registered for termination in the AMS early warning system. The media company also announced a change at the top of the editorial team in a broadcast on Wednesday: Martin Gebhart will replace Martina Salomon as editor-in-chief on March 1st. Salomon becomes editor.

In terms of content, the Kurier media house will focus on its core business in the future. This year, for example, the Romy Awards will take place as a purely TV event without a gala. From 2025, the Romy Gala will be re-evaluated and continued in a different form.

The “Kurier” summarized the difficult financial situation with falling sales revenues for print editions and declining subscriptions, which coincide with rising raw material and energy costs. At the same time, advertising money is increasingly flowing to large international platforms. The “multi-stage restructuring process” that has now been initiated will affect all departments including the “Kurier” editorial team.

“Dismissals very regrettable”

The planned layoffs of up to 40 people are “very regrettable, but necessary to secure a successful entrepreneurial future for ‘Kurier’,” “Kurier” managing director Richard Grasl was quoted as saying. A comprehensive social plan was drawn up with the works council.

The upheavals in the media industry would make a realignment inevitable. Therefore there is also a change in the editor-in-chief. From March 1st, the previous “Kurier” domestic policy department head Martin Gebhart will take over the role of editor-in-chief.

Gebhart 30 years with the “NÖN”

Gebhart has headed the domestic policy department since 2022, and before that the chronicle department of the “Kurier”. However, he spent by far the longest period of his career at the “Niederösterreichische Nachrichten” (NÖN). Gebhart worked there for over 30 years since 1986 – first as a reporter, and from 1995 as head of the department. In 2001 he was appointed deputy editor-in-chief and in 2005 local editor-in-chief. From 2016 he was the sole editor-in-chief.

“I know Martin Gebhart as editor-in-chief of ‘NÖN’ and in his functions as head of the chronicle and domestic policy department. He has mastered these tasks in an impressive manner and is a perfect choice in the restructuring phase. Gebhart stands for quality and independence and an almost limitless commitment to the products he manages,” said Grasl, praising the future editor-in-chief. “There are challenging times ahead of us in which it is more important than ever to offer our readers trustworthy and fact-based reporting on various channels,” stated Gebhart. He now wants to set new priorities in terms of content in order to strengthen the position of the “Kurier”.

Salomon becomes editor

He replaces Martina Salomon, who will act as editor in the future. “I will continue to be available to the readers of ‘Kurier’ as an editorial writer, with major interviews and at our numerous events,” she announced. She will also continue to carry out her duties in the Association of Editors-in-Chief, the Press Council and the Concordia Press Club.

Salomon has acted as editor-in-chief since 2018. She has been deputy at “Kurier” since 2010. Editor-in-chief on board. In 2012 she also became head of the economics department. Before working at the “Kurier”, she worked at the “Presse” as head of the domestic policy department.

The chairman of the Kurier Medienhaus supervisory board, Erwin Hameseder, assured that he supports the management’s decisions “to ensure the long-term success of the publishing group.”

Already savings in the previous year

The “Kurier” publishing house had already made savings last year. The media company announced in April 2023 that it was seeking amicable terminations with around 20 employees. It was also announced that natural departures would not be replaced and further cost reductions would be pursued through partial retirement. The Kurier media company is not the only major market player struggling with financial problems. Savings programs – including in the personnel area – were made public in a number of media companies last year.

According to Austrian circulation control, the “Kurier” has the third largest circulation of all daily newspapers in the country, with over 100,000 copies. Only “Kronen Zeitung” and “Kleine Zeitung” sold more. The media analysis shows the “Kurier” a print and e-paper reach of 5.4 percent, or 417,000 people. The online site kurier.at had around 2.6 million unique users in 2023, representing 36.5 percent of the web-active population.

Richard Grasl has been the new managing director of the Kurier media company since the beginning of the year. When Grasl took over the role from long-time “Kurier” managing director Thomas Kralinger, Grasl saw the media industry facing the “biggest upheaval of all time”. The media manager also manages the business of the news magazine “profil”, which is part of the media group.