RSSAOL to cut one-third of jobs
Employees have option of joining voluntary layoff program
America Online is downsizing again.
The company, which has thousands of employees in Dulles, is looking for 2,500 employees to voluntarily join a layoff program between Dec. 4 and 11. If the targeted number is not reached, the company will proceed with involuntary layoffs during the next several months. Those who volunteer to give up their jobs in December will receive three to nine months pay, depending on their position. Employees who are laid off involuntarily will receive a severance package of one to four months.
The cuts will reduce the overall workforce at the company by about one-third, according to AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose.
"We believe the voluntary program gives people more choice and decision-making ability instead of waiting for the final cost recommendations and involuntary layoffs," Primrose said in an e-mail.
Primrose did not know how many of the 2,400 employees in Northern Virginia would choose to opt into the program.
In May 2009, AOL's parent company, Time Warner Inc., announced that its board of directors had authorized management to proceed with the complete legal and structural separation of AOL, making it an independent, publicly traded company.
AOL's headquarters were in Dulles until April 2008, when it moved to New York City. When AOL and Time Warner merged in 2001, 3,100 people were employed at the Dulles campus, according to Loudoun County's Department of Economic Development. In 2004 and 2005, the number of employees passed 5,000. It has since dropped to below 5,000, although exact figures are not public.
As part of the announcement, AOL's chief executive officer, Tim Armstrong, said he is foregoing his 2009 bonus. He noted in his e-mail, "That decision is a personal one and is not a sign for the future payout of the overall bonus plan for employees."