FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The media company Axel Springer said on Monday that it would dismiss Julian Reichelt, the editor-in-chief of Germany’s top-selling Bild newspaper, with immediate effect.
Reichelt was on temporary leave earlier this year after admitting having affairs with women on the staff but being cleared of wrongdoing by a compliance investigation looking into abuse of power.
Axel Springer, which bought Politico in August, said that it had “gained new insights” about Reichelt’s behavior in the wake of recent press research.
“The management board learned that Julian Reichelt had not clearly separated private and professional matters even after the compliance proceedings were concluded in the spring” and that he had not been forthcoming about the truth, the company said in a statement on its website.
Reichelt did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
(Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by David Evans)
