dslreports logo
 story category
Black Monday At AOL
2,000 employees let go
AOL's transition from ISP to advertising overlord continues to be a painful one, as the company loses about a million subscribers per quarter, most of whom are fleeing to Comcast or a baby bell. Unfortunately, the company's ad revenue isn't picking up the slack, so this morning they sent a memo to employees noting that 2,000 of them would be let go. From the e-mail:
quote:
As a part of this realignment, tomorrow we begin a reduction in force that will, over the next couple of months, affect a total of about 2,000 people out of our worldwide workforce of 10,000. Everyone impacted by this reduction deserves our thanks and respect for their contributions to the company. We will aid these individuals in their transition to new opportunities as much as possible, most importantly with what we believe are generous severance packages.
AOL cut 5,000 employees last fall, and announced they'd be moving their headquarters from Dulles, Virginia, to New York City. The company currently serves roughly 10 million subscribers. Earthlink, who decided to tough it out as an ISP, hasn't fared much better, facing heavy subscriber losses that resulted in layoffs.
view:
topics flat nest 

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

U.S. Employees or Oversea Employees?

I believe AOL still outsources many of their departments overseas, and if they still do, are they letting any of them go or have they shut down all those facilities?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: U.S. Employees or Oversea Employees?

said by Robert:

I believe AOL still outsources many of their departments overseas, and if they still do, are they letting any of them go or have they shut down all those facilities?
Worldwide - not just U.S.

»news.yahoo.com/s/ap/2007 ··· jjoE1vAI
The cuts affect about 1,200 positions in the United States, including 750 in northern Virginia, which has long been AOL's headquarters.
So about 1200 out of the 2000 will be from U.S.

S_engineer
Premium Member
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL

S_engineer

Premium Member

Re: U.S. Employees or Oversea Employees?

I feel sorry for people that try to disconnect now. That will be a 6 hour phone call!
VikingStorm
join:2002-06-25
Omaha, NE

VikingStorm

Member

Re: U.S. Employees or Oversea Employees?

said by S_engineer:

I feel sorry for people that try to disconnect now. That will be a 6 hour phone call!
Or just press two buttons online to get it switched to the free version...

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to S_engineer

Premium Member

to S_engineer
said by S_engineer:

I feel sorry for people that try to disconnect now. That will be a 6 hour phone call!
nope! just a two minute phone call to CC company to report card stolen. THEN call aol and try to cancel then inform them you've reported your card stolen so all their efforts to keep you will fail.

oryoucouldjust
@turner.com

oryoucouldjust

Anon

Re: U.S. Employees or Oversea Employees?

just press 2 buttons in AOL, as another poster already said.

cork1958
Cork
Premium Member
join:2000-02-26

cork1958

Premium Member

Just get it over with!!

For crying out loud!!
druber
join:2000-04-11
Stow, MA

druber

Member

Re: Just get it over with!!

hey, maybe now that sunrocket is dead, whatshername can go back to running AOL?

Jim Gurd
Premium Member
join:2000-07-08
Livonia, MI

2 recommendations

Jim Gurd

Premium Member

Re: Just get it over with!!

said by druber:

hey, maybe now that sunrocket is dead, whatshername can go back to running AOL?
You mean Lisa Hook. I'm going to short sell the stock of the next company that hires her.

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

Mike to cork1958

Mod

to cork1958
Why?

I enjoy watching it suffer and bleed to death.
Cod2
join:2000-07-05
Kernersville, NC

1 edit

1 recommendation

Cod2

Member

Re: Just get it over with!!

said by Mike:

Why?

I enjoy watching it suffer and bleed to death.
How would you like it if you were getting laid off from your job and someone made a comment like that? Have a little sympathy for these people losing their jobs regardless of who they work for...

ironweasel
Weezy
Premium Member
join:2000-09-13
Belen, NM

ironweasel

Premium Member

Re: Just get it over with!!

said by Cod2:

said by Mike:

Why?

I enjoy watching it suffer and bleed to death.
How would you like it if you were getting laid off from your job and someone made a comment like that? Have a little sympathy for these people losing their jobs regardless of who they work for...
I think he was talking about the company itself rather than the individual employee. Yes, it's never a good thing when someone loses their job, but AOL, as an entity, needs to die already.

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

Thaler to Cod2

Premium Member

to Cod2
said by Cod2:

How would you like it if you were getting laid off from your job and someone made a comment like that? Have a little sympathy for these people losing their jobs regardless of who they work for...
I'd show sympathy...but AOL is a business that should've long been dead already. The writing was way beyond just being on the wall at this point. I'm personally running short finding sympathy for folks just entering such a flimsy work atmosphere, or haven't taken their years of pay to look for a job with a future.

MagMan
Life is simpler when you tell the truth.
Premium Member
join:2003-10-01
Westlake, OH

MagMan to Mike

Premium Member

to Mike
said by Mike:

Why?

I enjoy watching it suffer and bleed to death.
Agreed!!

Sorry to see people losing their jobs though.

But AOL needs to just go away and die somewhere.
47717768 (banned)
join:2003-12-08
Birmingham, AL

47717768 (banned)

Member

Re: Just get it over with!!

I never could cancel my AOL account

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to cork1958

Premium Member

to cork1958
Unemployment office. so easy to use no wonder its #1

james16
join:2001-02-26

james16

Member

Re: Just get it over with!!

Yeah, because they're going to need that "free" money when they turn to the bottle after losing their jobs. Then once that runs out there's always welfare .

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo

Member

oh so generous...

"what we believe are generous severance packages."

$500 and 10,000 AOL install cds?

benecewicz
Premium Member
join:2005-04-08
Parkville, MD

benecewicz

Premium Member

Re: oh so generous...

said by morbo:

"what we believe are generous severance packages."

$500 and 10,000 AOL install cds?
$500 and coasters for life, actually..

jester121
Premium Member
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

jester121 to morbo

Premium Member

to morbo
Trust me, when it comes to severance packages, you want to be in round one. Subsequent cuts are usually even deeper, and they're looking for more and more savings each time.

With a company like AOL that is swirling around the toilet bowl, hanging around is NEVER a good idea.
53059959 (banned)
Temp banned from BBR more then anyone
join:2002-10-02
PwnZone

53059959 (banned)

Member

Re: oh so generous...

said by jester121:

With a company like AOL that is swirling around the toilet bowl, hanging around is NEVER a good idea.
haha! I laughed out loud when I read that
Rick5
Premium Member
join:2001-02-06

1 recommendation

Rick5

Premium Member

I remember thinking back in 1999

or 2000 or thereabouts when AOL ~ Time warner announced their intention to merge or acquire one another or whatever it is that they did to structure their deal...that Steve Case was probably the smartest human being on planet Earth at the time.

After all, here was a guy that had presided over the meteoric rise of this company, directed that an AOL CD appear everywhere imaginable...took a company from absolutely nothing a few years earlier and created a 20+ million something customer powerhouse..watched his fortunes soar and soar some more as AOL's stock ran to the stratosphere..

and then knew...and I do believe knew..at that early date..that the whole party was going to come crashing to an end.

And, he did the only thing he could. Affiliate his company with an operation like Time Warner that would let him stage his exit out of the business.

Right at the peak no less..of the internet boom of year 2000.

To be sure, he stuck around a bit longer. Taking his lumps as it all began to unravel. But who really was the architect of it all...and who was walking with untold riches?

And, who..in the final analysis of it all..staged what was probably one of the biggest business coups of the century?

I remember thinking all that for a couple reasons.
First, AOL's stock continued to soar..all the time amidst the first signs of broadband rolling out.
My old area in Ohio was probably one of the first to have cable internet..back in early 1998..and how could I not think that Dialup..was dead?
Using that service...running at T1 speeds way back then..I knew that all they had to do was find the way to get this in every home across America..and there simply would be no more AOL to talk about. Because what they DIDN'T control..was that last mile. And that would forever more be their undoing. Because if they wanted in the broadband business..to introduce their customers to it..they would have to partner..as a middle man..with another company who could provide that.

What I really recall thinking though at the time was how really stupid Time Warner management was.
Imagine..agreeing to that deal when the broadband writing was on the wall. And, you should understand that they SHOULD have known about that..because of the early rollout of RoadRunner across their cable systems.
But still..I guess the massive subscriber base of AOL just got to their heads. And they figured it was theirs to keep forever more.

Guess again. Because as fast as it was..this house that Steve Case built..surely..it would fall.

When the world..simply didn't want dialup anymore.

Mr. Case...you truly were one smart SOB.

jester121
Premium Member
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

1 recommendation

jester121

Premium Member

Re: I remember thinking back in 1999

Steve Case's real genius was in recognizing the internet as something that needed to have ads plastered all over it. Prior to AOL, there just weren't many ads on the internet.

Whether things are better now or not may be subject to debate.

Personally, I think the internet went way downhill once people started using it.

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

Nightfall

MVM

Re: I remember thinking back in 1999

said by jester121:

Steve Case's real genius was in recognizing the internet as something that needed to have ads plastered all over it. Prior to AOL, there just weren't many ads on the internet.

Whether things are better now or not may be subject to debate.

Personally, I think the internet went way downhill once people started using it.
Actually, internet ads really started catching on back in 1996. I remember seeing my first ad in late 1995 and by 1996, they were starting to become more and more widespread. I was in college at the time and I was just shocked to see ads on websites back then.

jester121
Premium Member
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

jester121

Premium Member

Re: I remember thinking back in 1999

My point is, other than universities, no one had internet access prior to AOL's rise to prominence in the mid 1990s, so their first taste of Internet came with a side of Ads.

There were other ISPs around (Earthlink, Netcom, etc.) but none were as widespread as AOL. Even the other "online services" like Prodigy and Compuserver weren't very ad-centric at that point.

LaZ3R
Premium Member
join:2003-01-17

LaZ3R

Premium Member

Ahahahahha AOL came so close

To world domination.

They failed. People who work for AOL should have begun looking for new jobs many years ago...

GilbertMark
Premium Member
join:2001-05-02
Gilbert, AZ

1 edit

GilbertMark

Premium Member

Re: Ahahahahha AOL came so close

said by LaZ3R:

To world domination.

They failed. People who work for AOL should have begun looking for new jobs many years ago...
+1 agreed. My sympathy only goes so far to people who work for a company like this who have no clue what they are doing (the company, not the employees). I've left one employer for another when I saw the end was near. And I've done this more than once in my life. This is just another example of Darwinism. If someone wants to stick around until the final bell, just to see how it turns out, so be it. You do want to be in the first round, although I've seen people survive to the third round of cuts and still get a pretty damn good package.

AOL you could save a lot of money by firing your fat cat executives with their plush expense accounts and bonuses, not the underlings who work for minimum wage. Another company that could still be relevant is now just another POS company. And you need a college degree to manage a business these days? Says who?

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown

Premium Member

why are they moving their headquarters to nyc?

Isn't nyc 10x more expensive?

jsimmons
MVM
join:2000-04-24
Falls Church, VA

jsimmons

MVM

Re: why are they moving their headquarters to nyc?

NYC is where the Advertising Center of the World is. If you are going to be an advertising-driven company, you have to be in NYC. If you are going to be a technology company, The NoVA, DC, Md metro area is the place to be. AOL thinks its now the former, not the latter.

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

1 edit

kamm

Member

Re: why are they moving their headquarters to nyc?

said by jsimmons:

NYC is where the Advertising Center of the World is. If you are going to be an advertising-driven company, you have to be in NYC. If you are going to be a technology company, The NoVA, DC, Md metro area is the place to be. AOL thinks its now the former, not the latter.
Actually NYC is THE Tech City of the World - Silicon Alley (from TriBeCa to Flatiron District area) sports the most technology companies in the world, more than twice of Silicon Valley and these are actual technology offices, not shiny but empty administrative HQs only.

PS: since we moved down here, to TriBeCa ~4 years ago (used to be at the 34th St), I have noticed a huge influx of tech companies into this 9/11-ridden area... there's no way you want to be anywhere else if you're into any of this businesses: new media, hgih-tech sciences, advertisement, post production (commercials, not features) etc.

Thaler
Premium Member
join:2004-02-02
Los Angeles, CA

Thaler to jsimmons

Premium Member

to jsimmons
Does one really need to work in the advertising capital of the nation to get face time? I mean, I thought advertising was one of those businesses where you pay them for services. Should it really matter if you're in their business, or renting ad space from outside of SomeTown, USA?

Ivybridge_I7
Cyber-Crime Researcher OpSec
Premium Member
join:2004-06-09
Daytona Beach, FL

Ivybridge_I7

Premium Member

AOL wow are they still in business

I know that AOL/Atdn are still offering DSL in the Netherlands because I've shut down a lot of accounts that where dealing in Advance Fee Fraud (419) scams. I wish AOL would just go out of business for good because they are no longer relevant in today's internet access options.

Most Americans want either cable, DSL or WIFI and have no real need in what AOL has to offer.

In a nut shell, they SUCK !

hayabusa3303
Over 200 mph
Premium Member
join:2005-06-29
Florence, SC

hayabusa3303

Premium Member

Just in time...

so they dont have to pay Xmas bonus to anyone.

texans20
Premium Member
join:2002-09-28
Texas!

texans20

Premium Member

No Surprise

I'm sure every AOL employee has been waiting for this day for a while now. They were well aware their ship is a sinking one. Yea, it sucks to get laid off, but they knew this day was inevitable.

screwydewy
@charter.com

screwydewy

Anon

aol going out of business

Man I remember back in the day when I was a beta tester for aol (early 80's) just a lil bit before it went the ibm based pc route. It started out as a mac based isp with a cool gui. But....alas all things die such is the nature of the universe.

I give aol up years ago.
brianiscool
join:2000-08-16
Tampa, FL

brianiscool

Member

lol

Great I'm glad they are dying. They just TOS my account for cursing in a chat room. I'll go on irc and talk all I want with no enforcement of language.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: lol

said by brianiscool:

Great I'm glad they are dying. They just TOS my account for cursing in a chat room. I'll go on irc and talk all I want with no enforcement of language.
"You have been logged off for scrolling" haha, the memories
brianiscool
join:2000-08-16
Tampa, FL

brianiscool

Member

{S DROP
{S GOODBYE
{S A

Catwatch07 has joined Miami chat

Goodbye!

NJxxxJon
2 0 1 7 Mmm Here We go man!
Premium Member
join:2005-10-22

NJxxxJon

Premium Member

FREE

I used to use the free floppy disks. 1.4 m was a place to put wordperfect documents.

•••••

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Arrrgh!

Click for full size
The AOL Wicked Witch of the West
Oh you wicked little girl I am melting...melting....melting
Thus AOL disappears into the wood work.
Nobbie16
join:2000-09-28
Jersey City, NJ

Nobbie16

Member

Remember Compuserve?

They bought and then killed Compuserve which was a far superior service. How does it feel to be on the block now? What goes around comes and comes and comes around!!

CylonRed
MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County

CylonRed

MVM

Re: Remember Compuserve?

How do you mean 'killed'? CompuServe is still around...
Nobbie16
join:2000-09-28
Jersey City, NJ

Nobbie16

Member

Re: Remember Compuserve?

said by CylonRed:

How do you mean 'killed'? CompuServe is still around...
If you remember Compuserve from back in the day, their current existence is as good as dead. You really don't consider Compuserve to be a fraction of what they really were, farless an ISP to consider.

mers2
Premium Member
join:2004-03-20
USA

1 edit

mers2

Premium Member

AdvertisingOnLine

When I beta tested for them prior to the release of their Windows version, (anyone remember the Geos version?) it wasn't so bad. However, as soon as the company began to grow service went downhill and the ads exploded. And what they did to ComuServe was unforgivable. What they've come to today is the end result of unmitigated greed and apathy towards the end user. The fact that they are transitioning into purely an advertiser is no surprise either. Frankly, I hope the company dies - and that whatever employees are left jump ship before that happens.
nitecourt
join:2004-10-19
Erie, PA

1 edit

1 recommendation

nitecourt

Member

Re: AdvertisingOnLine

Click for full size
Click for full size
Yeah, I remember that version. I wonder if it works with Vista.

No to ESPN
@comcast.net

No to ESPN

Anon

AOL CDs

At least I am not getting three or four AOL CDs in the mail anymore. I think that is where all their profits went.

JAXx
aka Stephen
Premium Member
join:2000-03-31
New York, NY

JAXx

Premium Member

So where is Steve Case today?

Any ideas? Fishing?

cside
join:2002-01-07
Springfield, VA

cside

Member

Re: So where is Steve Case today?

»www.revolutionhealth.com/about/

PhiloVance5
join:2001-11-20
Bakersfield, CA

PhiloVance5

Member

Re: So where is Steve Case today?

quote:
Personally, I think the internet went way downhill once people started using it.
Classic...just classic.
severach
join:2002-09-12
Jackson, MI

severach

Member

AOL subscribers

Where are the laments for the 10 mil subscribers still in AOL? Those are the real losers here.