The reorganisation was to eliminate eight sub-editor positions, assign about 70% of their tasks to artificial intelligence and create two chief editor jobs. The Créteil judicial court suspended its implementation on 15 September 2026. In its interim order, made public by L'Informé, the judge considers insufficiently substantiated the assessment of the project's consequences on working conditions at Gisi, a subsidiary of Infopro Digital which publishes notably L'Usine Nouvelle, LSA and L'Argus de l'assurance.

The decision concerns a specific project and the prevention measures accompanying it. It does not create a general ban on cutting jobs with AI. However, it obliges Gisi to confront the expected gains of its tool with the real production conditions of its titles, before continuing the reorganisation.

Tests deemed insufficient

The case is more nuanced than a total absence of experimentation. The company had set up a working group dedicated to AI and entrusted trials to a consultant with editorial experience in one of its titles. Management had also produced a bailiff's report, dated 4 August, describing an experiment on three articles. The judge notes, however, that this was not adversarial and had been conducted by the project manager, familiar with the tool, without it being established that he had the quality of an experimenting editor.

Above all, the company did not justify having produced a complete "dummy issue", yet announced for the end of June. This test was to verify the entire production chain, up to the layout. The expertise commissioned by the social and economic committee (CSE) disputed estimates established from exchanges between management and the project team, without participation of the employees concerned. The times allocated to the future tasks of editors had not been compared with real work.

The issue lies in the operations that remain after text generation. The DIGI tool opens fact-checking, writing improvement and correction functions that the editor must validate. The report cited by the court also points out that some texts become longer, which requires shortening them. These reworkings must be included in the workload calculation, as well as the automated tasks.

Two chief editors facing the remaining work

The sizing of the organisation is at the heart of the dispute. According to the expertise related in the order, Gisi assessed between 2 and 2.4 full-time equivalents the residual work of sub-editors, while planning two chief editors. These were to intervene on publications with different methods. The expert also highlighted risks of overload for editors, picture editors and layout artists.

The judge notes other shortcomings. The single document for assessing occupational risks already identified stress linked to job insecurity, organisational changes and lack of reference points in the face of AI. These risks were not rated and Gisi did not justify the implementation of the envisaged support measures. The 2026 prevention programme included actions still in progress or under study.

On the basis of the employer's safety obligations, the court concludes a manifestly unlawful disturbance. It suspends the reorganisation, the collective redundancy project for the eight sub-editors and the resulting redeployment processes. Resumption is subject to real-world testing and the production of dummy issues, then, if necessary, a new assessment of the consequences on the workload of other employees.

The provisional penalty reaches 8,000 euros per day of delay for three months in case of non-compliance with this suspension. It is therefore not a penalty already acquired. The judge does not grant, in interim proceedings, the CSE's request for a provision on damages, but awards it 2,000 euros in legal costs.

Management suspends its project and considers an appeal

Questioned by Stratégies, Isabelle André, executive director of Infopro Digital, said the company was suspending the project while finalising the tests. She assures that these had been underway for several months and that positions with training had been offered to all sub-editors. Management reserves the possibility of appealing.

The case goes beyond Gisi within the group. Nineteen sub-editor positions are affected in total, including eleven at the Moniteur group, which publishes notably Le Moniteur and La Gazette des communes. The European Federation of Journalists recalls that the projects were presented on 4 May and provoked mobilisation in the spring. The 15 September order does not, however, by itself suspend the separate procedure of the Moniteur group.

A scope that falls under labour law

This case is part of an existing legal framework. Article L. 2312-8 of the Labour Code provides for information and consultation of the CSE, in companies with at least fifty employees, on the introduction of new technologies and significant changes in working conditions. Article L. 4121-1 requires the employer to protect the physical and mental health of workers.

An order of the Nanterre judicial court of 14 February 2025 had already suspended the deployment of AI tools during the CSE consultation, according to the analysis of CMS Francis Lefebvre. The Créteil case sheds light on another aspect: the robustness of the risk assessment and the effectiveness of prevention measures. It is not enough to count the tasks that the software can handle. Human rework, differences between publications and the resources of the remaining teams also determine the feasibility of the organisation.

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