RTL Germany to cut around 500 jobs after Sky takeover

On 17 September 2026 RTL CEO Stephan Schmitter told staff in an internal business update that around 500 positions will be cut by the end of 2027, more than 250 of them already in 2026, with Cologne and Unterföhring affected roughly equally. The background is the integration following completion of the Sky Deutschland takeover on 1 June 2026 (removing duplicate structures; target: €250m in annual synergies within three years). This is an additional round on top of the 'Shift 2026' programme of more than 600 positions (entry 148fad5c), some 1,100 jobs in total (t-online, 17 Sep 2026).