RTL Deutschland is moving forward with a plan to eliminate redundancies in its business following the acquisition of Sky Deutschland earlier this year.
The plan calls for more than 500 positions to be cut by the end of 2027 as RTL Deutschland continues its strategy of streamlining business operations over the next decade.
Around 150 positions are expected to disappear through expiring contracts and vacant jobs that will not be filled. RTL said the restructuring will be carried out in consultation with employee representatives and that the companies intend to avoid compulsory redundancies.
The job cuts are part of a broader effort to generate €250 million (U.S. $296 million) in annual synergies within three years of the Sky Deutschland acquisition.
“The largest part of this comes from optimizing content and non-content costs,” a spokesperson for RTL Deutschland said in a statement this week. “In addition, duplicate structures will be eliminated, responsibilities bundled and more efficient and future-oriented decision-making processes created.”
RTL Deutschland announced its intention to acquire Sky Deutschland from Comcast last year, with the deal closing earlier this year. The integration combines RTL Deutschland’s television channels and RTL Plus streaming service with Sky’s pay television and streaming businesses, including Wow.
RTL said the combined operation will invest around €2.5 billion (U.S. $3.0 billion) annually in content distributed across RTL, RTL Plus and Sky platforms.
Both companies had already started restructuring before the transaction. Last year, RTL Deutschland announced it would cut around 600 jobs under its “Shift 2026” strategy.
