US internet and media giant AOL is cutting its workforce by around 20 percent following its purchase of the Huffington Post, according to reports on Thursday.
AOL is letting go of around 20 percent of its workforce following its recent purchase of the Huffington Post.Photo credit: Huffington Post
"I have just laid off dozens of the most talented journalists & product folks I know," read a post on Twitter by Jonathan Dube, general manager of AOL's news and information group. "Need talent? Let me know!"
In India, 400 jobs will be lost and 300 more will be outsourced to third-party groups. 200 jobs will be cut from its US workforce, according to reports.
I have just laid off dozens of the most talented journalists & product folks I know. Need talent? Let me know!
– Jonathan Dube, AOL news and information group manager
The cuts are being made to roles that have been "deemed redundant", according to the report.
Although further job cuts are not planned, AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong did not rule them out in the future. However, he remained upbeat about the company's outlook.
"Right now there are no future changes planned, [but] in our situation we don't have the luxury of long-term planning," Armstrong told the Financial Times. "AOL will turn around, I have no doubt about it."
AOL has made a number of acquisitions over the past year, including snapping up Michael Arrington's TechCrunch website and the social-network aggregator about.me, both for undisclosed amounts of money. The purchases were made to "enhance the consumer experience" of services such as AOL Mail and AIM on AOL-owned sites such Engadget and PopEater, the company said.
In January 2010, AOL said that it was laying off approximately 1,400 employees, 1,100 of whom took voluntary redundancy, according to Business Insider.
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