Top editor at German media giant Axel Springer ousted after workplace investigation

NEW YORK – One of the top editors at Axel Springer, the German media giant behind major American publications like Politico and Business Insider, left the company after an investigation into inappropriate behaviour, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The investigation into Mr Jan Philipp Burgard, who was the editor-in-chief of the centre-right broadsheet Welt, began in January after executives at Axel Springer received a media inquiry about Mr Burgard’s behaviour at an alcohol-filled company Christmas party in December 2025, two of the people said.

During the investigation, Mr Burgard, 41, was asked whether he had behaved inappropriately towards female employees of Axel Springer at the party, two of the people said, including whether he had kissed the employees.

Under questioning, Mr Burgard acknowledged that he had been drinking at the party, but said he could not recall whether the reports were true, two of the people said.

After that conversation, Axel Springer told Mr Burgard to resign, the two people said.

Mr Burgard did not respond to e-mails, texts or phone calls seeking comment. In a LinkedIn post last week, he said he had decided to resign after experiencing “a serious physical incident” on a flight back from vacation that required him to be treated by a doctor in midair.

Reached by phone, a spokesperson for Axel Springer declined to comment on personnel matters.

Mr Burgard is being replaced by Mr Helge Fuhst, a top editor at the German public broadcaster Ard. Mr Fuhst will also oversee the German editions of Axel Springer’s US titles, including Politico and Business Insider.

Mr Burgard was one of Axel Springer’s most prominent editors, steering its influential German broadsheet and appearing on its TV network. NYTIMES