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AOL waves goodbye to 900 staffers

Jobs contract off back of content spending spree

AOL pointed 900 of its employees towards the door marked Exit yesterday, as part of the company's effort to recast itself as a media content provider.

Just last month, the firm's CEO Tim Armstrong confirmed the $315m buyout of the Huffington Post.

Around 200 staffers based in the US were laid off, following that purchase. AOL axed 400 jobs in India and said a further 300 roles at the company would be outsourced to third-party outfits.

The jobs cull leaves AOL's headcount reduced by around 20 per cent, with a workforce now of 4,000 people on its books worldwide.

This is the latest in a series of job cuts at AOL. Armstrong has been desperately trying to shift the firm's focus away from cashing in on an increasingly diminished dial-up internet access biz.

His response has been to gulp up well-known blog sites. Late last year, AOL bought TechCrunch.

"Today is a very difficult day at the company because people’s jobs are impacted," said Armstrong. "The changes today for me are very personal."

Business Insider has a copy of Armstrong's memo to staff here, as well as more details about the lay-offs. ®

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