Bertelsmann Increases Investments in Gütersloh Region to €70 Million in 2023

Donations totaled €250,000 in 2023
More than 200 organizations, associations, and projects supported
Number of employees has remained constant at 11,000 for many years
High investments planned again in the present 2024 financial year
Thomas Rabe: “Gütersloh is and remains Bertelsmann’s home.”

Gütersloh, February 13, 2024 – The international media, services and education company Bertelsmann once again invested an eight-figure amount of around €70 million in its Gütersloh-based divisions in the past financial year 2023, €18 million more than in the previous year (2022: €52 million). The funds were primarily invested in Arvato Systems and Arvato’s logistics businesses. The high level of investment is to be maintained in the current 2024 financial year.

Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe says: “We employ 33,200 people of 131 different nationalities in Germany. Around 11,000 of these employees work in the Gütersloh area alone, more than at any other location. All the more reason for us to invest here locally, get involved, and make our contribution to society. Gütersloh is and remains Bertelsmann’s home.”

The employee count of 11,000 in the greater Gütersloh area has remained constant over many years. In August 2023, 107 new apprentices and dual students began training at Bertelsmann businesses in the region. All apprenticeship graduates in 2023 received a job offer within the Group.

Bertelsmann donated around €250,000 to more than 200 organizations, associations and projects in the greater Gütersloh area in 2023 (2022: €270,000). On top of this, donations in kind were made, including more than 6,000 books and audiobooks. Shortly before Christmas, a €25,000 donation went to the Bielefeld palliative care initiative “Der Weg nach Hause” (The Way Home) for the 17th time. In total, Bertelsmann has supported this initiative with around €450,000 since 2006. Other highlights in the 2023 event year included the Blue Sofa events featuring authors Prof. Dietrich Grönemeyer, Christine Westermann, and Mona Ameziane at the Gütersloh Theater. In September, 50,000 people attended the “Toggo Tour” in Gütersloh city center.

Numerous events are already scheduled for 2024. For example, a “Blue Sofa Gütersloh” with Germany’s most famous forest ranger, author Peter Wohlleben, will take place at the Gütersloh Theater on 2 March. A few tickets are still available for the event. The Bertelsmann Party will take place in Berlin on June 6 and the traditional pensioners’ party in Gütersloh’s Town Hall on November 4. Further details will be announced in due course.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company with 85.000 employees, 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 Group, Bertelsmann Marketing Services, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company generated revenues of €20.2 billion in the 2022 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.