French court suspends part of Infopro Digital plan to cut 19 journalist jobs and use AI instead

On 4 May 2026, Infopro Digital told the social and economic committee of its Moniteur and Gisi units it intended to cut 19 editorial secretary (secretaire de redaction) posts across 26 trade press titles. The journalists would be replaced by five new "chief editor" positions that would work with AI, with management citing the need to reduce payroll and magazine production costs. Around 250 journalists struck in the spring, and on Tuesday 15 September the Judicial Court of Creteil suspended the first part of the plan, covering eight journalists, finding that in the absence of a "real situation" the rollout posed "a serious and characterized risk to the physical and mental health of several categories of employees". Management reserves the right to appeal. No prototype system had been built. The case shows courts scrutinising whether AI-based restructuring is substantiated, and unions argue employers are reclassifying AI as a "technological change" to justify redundancy plans.