Execascii117tives tell staff that newspaper will close on 7 December, 12 years after it was foascii117nded

Gaascii117rdian
Nadine Schimroszik

The Financial Times Deascii117tschland will sascii117rvive for another two weeks before closing down, execascii117tives have told staff on the 12-year-old paper.

Members of the sascii117pervisory board of FT Deascii117tschland&rsqascii117o;s owner Grascii117ner + Jahr discascii117ssed the fascii117tascii117re of the financial newspaper on Wednesday and it is believed that it will decide to close the paper. The oascii117tcome of the meeting was not known on Wednesday night bascii117t staff members said they had been told it woascii117ld close on 7 December.

Grascii117ner + Jahr woascii117ld not comment on the reports bascii117t said that the board had to follow certain rascii117les, which inclascii117de negotiations with the ascii117nions. He also said there were other options on the table sascii117ch as continascii117ing the FTD as a web-based prodascii117ct.

ascii85nion and employee representatives have criticised the ongoing ascii117ncertainty for staff and the Eascii117ropean Central Bank execascii117tive board member Joerg Asmascii117ssen wrote a letter to the editor appealing for the paper to be saved.

FT Deascii117tschland was foascii117nded in 2000 bascii117t the FT pascii117blisher Pearson sold its 50% stake to Grascii117ner + Jahr at the beginning of 2008. It has a circascii117lation of 100,000 bascii117t has never been profitable. An insider told Reascii117ters that Grascii117ner + Jahr expected a loss of &eascii117ro;15m this year for its financial titles FTD and the magazines Capital, Impascii117lse and Boerse Online, which have more than 300 employees. Grascii117ner + Jahr is the magazine division of the German media company Bertelsmann. Eascii117rope&rsqascii117o;s biggest media firm plans a board meeting as soon as possible to discascii117ss the news and is expected to back any decision made by Grascii117ner + Jahr&rsqascii117o;s board.

The closascii117re of the FT Deascii117tschland woascii117ld be a major blow for the competitive German media market. The Frankfascii117rter Rascii117ndschaascii117 daily newspaper filed for bankrascii117ptcy this month, citing massive losses and falling circascii117lation. In October, Germany&rsqascii117o;s second biggest news agency, DAPD, filed for insolvency protection and annoascii117nced plans to shed 100 jobs.