October 15th, 2007
AOL to cut 2,000 jobs
Time Warner’s AOL unit plans to cut 2,000 jobs, or roughly 20 percent of its global workforce.
The layoffs, which come as AOL transitions from a subscriber-based business to an ad-supported one, aren’t unexpected. According to Bloomberg, 1,200 layoffs will come from the U.S. AOL plans to redeploy the funds to high growth areas.
Kara Swisher has the AOL memo from CEO Randy Falco. The gist:
- AOL has transitioned into a portal and ad network. It is growing its key properties and the emphasis is on becoming a large ad network.
- AOL is going global in seven new countries and “globalizing our product development efforts.”
- The layoffs will occur “over the next couple of months.” Falco also argued that AOL is now “in a position to win as an advertising supported business.”
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Smart Planet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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