NEW YORK (Reuters) - AOL will cut about 700 jobs, or 10 percent of its workforce, as the Internet services and media company struggles with an advertising downturn and recession, according to an internal memo circulated to employees on Wednesday.
AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc
Most of the job cuts will be made in the United States and will be finalized by the end of March, he said. The rest will be made abroad over the next several quarters. A copy of the memo was obtained by Reuters.
Falco said the steps were a result of the deepening recession. "Online marketers have tightened their ad buying across the board, reducing their spend by hundreds of millions of dollars," he said.
Falco, who took the helm at AOL two years ago, said his three-year turnaround plan was now focusing on three core businesses: advertising with its Platform A business; publishing with MediaGlow; and social media with People Networks, which holds its Bebo social network and AIM messaging assets.
AOL previously said it will split out its dial-up Internet access business and may sell that business.
In its cost-cutting efforts, the company is reviewing international operations and its global shared-services functions and is considering consolidating some domestic facilities.
(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke; editing by John Wallace)
