Report: AOL Plan to Include Thousands of Layoffs, Near Halt to Marketing

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 10, 2006 - 1:37pm.

Dulles, Va. - Two weeks away from pitching his radical plan to transform AOL into a free, ad-supported service, CEO Jonathan Miller is expected to call for thousands of layoffs and a "near halt" to marketing of the company's trademark Internet service, The New York Times reported on Monday. Miller, who will detail his proposal to the board of parent Time Warner, is expected to "defend his unusually draconian plan by arguing that trying to wring every last dime from its dial-up subscribers is preventing AOL from being as aggressive as it can in competing with Yahoo, Microsoft and Google on the web," The Times reported, citing anonymous AOL executives. The plan, however, could be a tough sell to some board members, since they would initially have to accept lower profits until the company is able to boost its advertising revenue. The plan is scheduled for public announcement on August 2.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/10/technology/10aol.html