Editor of Germany’s Bild sacked after report on workplace behavior

The top editor at Bild, Germany’s biggest tabloid, was dismissed Monday, after a New York Times report on allegations that he had behaved inappropriately with female employees. 

Julian Reichelt, the editor-in-chief, was relieved of his duties “with immediate effect,” according to a statement from media giant Axel Springer, which owns Bild (and also owns POLITICO).

Reichelt had “failed to maintain a clear boundary between private and professional matters” and was also “untruthful” to the company’s executive board in this regard, the statement said.

The dismissal came after the New York Times reported that Reichelt promoted a junior employee to a high-profile job while he was having an affair with her. Reichelt told the female employee in November 2016 that “if they find out that I’m having an affair with a trainee, I’ll lose my job,” the Times reported, citing a transcript of the employee’s testimony to investigators from a law firm hired by Axel Springer as part of an internal probe into Reichelt’s conduct.

Reichelt has denied abusing his authority.

His replacement at the helm of Bild is Johannes Boie, editor-in-chief at Welt Am Sonntag, another newspaper owned by Axel Springer.