AOL to Cut 2,000 jobs
Posted by Bezhou Feng on 15 October 2007 - 23:43 · 11 comments & 5669 views
Beleaguered internet service provider AOL has announced that it is eliminating another 2,000 jobs worldwide to cut costs and build its strength as it transitions from an ISP to an online advertising company. The 20% slice from AOL's work force comes after several rounds of layoffs in recent years, including a cut of 5,000 jobs last fall, all due to increasing difficulty in staying profitable in a market where many customers have begun moving away from dial-up to high-speed services offered by cable and telephone companies. "This realignment will allow us to increase investment in high-growth areas of the company - as an example, we added hundreds of people this year through acquisitions - while scaling back in areas with less growth potential or those that aren't core to our business," AOL Chief Executive Randy Falco told employees Monday.
To make up for declines in subscription revenues, AOL has been trying to boost traffic to its ad-supported Web sites and last year began giving away AOL.com e-mail accounts, software and other features once reserved for paying subscribers. Last year's job reductions were mostly in customer-service and marketing personnel as AOL opted to stop producing and distributing its notorious trial discs aimed at luring new subscribers. The latest cuts, by contrast, are expected to affect employees across the board. The move shows AOL's desire to slim down to what it believes it can do best. That includes developing Web sites such as its Moviefone and MapQuest properties to attract Web visitors in some 30 countries, Falco said, and building "the largest and most sophisticated global advertising network" for marketers to reach that online audience. In a memo to employees obtained by The Associated Press, Falco described the latest cuts as difficult but necessary.

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(3 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #1 Posted by Foub on 15 Oct 2007 - 23:58
Oh how the mighty have fallen......
Quote this comment #1.1 Posted by MGS4-SS on 16 Oct 2007 - 00:23
I think AOL fell a decade ago. Remember when they used to give aways those CD's with free Internet? That was the start of the fall.
Quote this comment #1.2 Posted by eck0 on 16 Oct 2007 - 01:59
Wonder how that website for 1million aol disks is going

ahh (

http://www.nomoreaolcds.com/
Quote this comment #1.3 Posted by boho on 16 Oct 2007 - 10:05
Quote - (MGS4-SS said @ #1.1)
I think AOL fell a decade ago. Remember when they used to give aways those CD's with free Internet? That was the start of the fall.


You obviously have a short memory! I used to delight in reformatting the floppy disk they used to kindly post to you. I wonder how many dozens of disk I got that way, when disks were £1 a piece! They were always considered the devil, and even bought up Compu$erve Those were the days, Compuserve 9.6 KBPS £2 per hour plus the cost of a national phone call. Deeeeeeee, didle-liddle-liddle
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #2 Posted by jmmycrackcorn on 16 Oct 2007 - 00:23
They should follow their own advice: Turn off the company, wait five minutes, and then re-boot it.
(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #3 Posted by Davo on 16 Oct 2007 - 00:53
Here's a company that deserves all of its problems.
Quote this comment #3.1 Posted by RAID 0 on 16 Oct 2007 - 07:59
+1
(3 replies) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #4 Posted by nunjabusiness on 16 Oct 2007 - 01:04
Cool - only 8,000 to go.
Quote this comment #4.1 Posted by bangbang023 on 16 Oct 2007 - 03:17
For those 8,000 people, I'm sure they'd not appreciate your comment. As much as you may dislike this company, they are far less evil than some other companies out there and, hey, those employees need a paycheck like the rest of us.
Quote this comment #4.2 Posted by boho on 16 Oct 2007 - 10:15
Quote - (bangbang023 said @ #4.1)
they are far less evil than some other companies out there and, hey, those employees need a paycheck like the rest of us.


You have a very short memory! If so great, why are they going down the pan? I've been made redundant twice, and summarily dismissed once (good old UK employment law). It's called life buddy! BTW, just look at the rest of the US economy! People do not want the Dollar any more, that why all the Arab states and Asia (China esp.) are buying your companies instead. The US treasury bonds are the next to go "Sub Prime". The day of reckoning is drawing near, if you don't... "Wake up America!"
Quote this comment #4.3 Posted by nunjabusiness on 16 Oct 2007 - 11:28
Quote - (bangbang023 said @ #4.1)
For those 8,000 people, I'm sure they'd not appreciate your comment. As much as you may dislike this company, they are far less evil than some other companies out there and, hey, those employees need a paycheck like the rest of us.


Plenty of fast food jobs available in most towns, since most teens are too spoiled and lazy to work nowadays.
Playing their consoles is a full-time thing!
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