Press Release | Gütersloh, 01/27/2023

Bertelsmann Donates €270,000 and Over 6,000 Books in Greater Gütersloh Area in 2022

• More than 200 organizations, associations and projects supported in 2022
• Investments of €52 million in Gütersloh
• Employees receive up to €3,000 to allay inflation
• High investments planned again in current FY 2023
• Thomas Rabe: “Gütersloh is and remains Bertelsmann’s home.”

Gütersloh, January 27, 2023 – In the 2022 financial year, Bertelsmann donated around €270,000 to more than 200 organizations, associations, and projects in the greater Gütersloh region, €20,000 more than in the previous year (2021: €250,000). Additionally, the international media, services, and education company made donations in kind, including more than 6,000 books and audiobooks. Shortly before Christmas, €25,000 was donated to the Bielefeld palliative initiative ‘Der Weg nach Hause’ (The Way Home) for the 16th time, bringing Bertelsmann’s total support for the initiative since 2006 to over €400,000.

Bertelsmann once again invested an eight-digit figure of around €52 million (2021: €85 million) in its local companies and divisions in its hometown Gütersloh. The funds flowed primarily into Arvato Systems and Arvato Supply Chain Solutions. Photovoltaic modules were installed on several roof areas totaling 46,000 m² at the Arvato site on Reinhard-Mohn-Strasse. These modules generate about 3.5 million kW/h of electricity annually, 100 percent of which is consumed on site. The plant, which cost a total of three million euros, covers the annual energy requirements of 1,000 three-person households.

Thomas Rabe, Chairman & CEO of Bertelsmann, said: “Gütersloh is and remains Bertelsmann’s home. Our global activities in 50 countries are managed from the Corporate Center. Accordingly, Gütersloh is of central importance to the Group. And this is not the only reason we intend to remain engaged here in the years ahead. Bertelsmann is planning further investments in the eight-digit range in its companies and divisions at the Gütersloh site for the current fiscal year 2023.”

Some 11,000 employees work for Bertelsmann in the greater Gütersloh area, more than at any of the company’s other locations around the world. The number of Bertelsmann employees in the greater Gütersloh area has remained constant over the years. In August 2022, 187 new apprentices and dual students began their vocational training at Bertelsmann in the region – more than ever before. All apprenticeship graduates in 2022 received a job offer within the Group.

In October 2022, Bertelsmann announced that it would pay its employees inflation compensation bonuses of up to €3,000. In all, Bertelsmann will pay out an amount in the eight-figure range.

In September 2022, another Bertelsmann Management Meeting was held at the company’s headquarters in Gütersloh. Thomas Rabe announced to more than 500 of the Group’s top executives that he intends to achieve revenues of €24 billion, EBITDA of €4 billion and net profit of €2 billion four years from now. These targets dovetail with the Group’s ‘Boost’ growth plans: €5 billion to €7 billion are to be invested by 2025 to lift Bertelsmann to an even higher level of revenues and earnings. On March 30, 2023, the company will announce its financials for 2022.

As part of the Group’s cultural activities in 2022, two ‘Blue Sofa’ literary events were held in Gütersloh, featuring Schlager singer Roland Kaiser in May and journalist Pinar Atalay in November. Two more ‘Blue Sofa Gütersloh’ events are planned for the current fiscal year 2023 as well. In addition, two ‘Bertelsmann Forums’ are to be held, at which high-profile guests from politics and business are invited to speak at the Bertelsmann Corporate Center.

The traditional pensioners’ party is to be held again for the first time on November 20, 2023, after a break due to Covid. Further details will be announced in due course.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services, and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the entertainment group RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 145,000 employees and generated revenues of €18.7 billion in the 2021 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world. Bertelsmann aspires to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.