AOL to Lay Off 5,000 Employees

AOL plans to reduce its workforce by 5,000 over the next six months as it changes its online offerings. The New York Times reports that about 3,000 of the jobs will come the companyis European Internet business, and the other 2,000 will come from its dial-up services department in the United States.

AOL hopes that by eliminating the jobs will help in a plan to cut annual expenses by at least US$1 billion to compensate for lost revenue as subscribers leave. The company is also trying to find a buyer for its European Internet access business.

Earlier this week, AOL announced that it will start offering some of its paid services for free to broadband Internet users that are willing to put up with in-line advertising. Companies like Google and Yahoo! have been chipping away at AOLis subscriber base by offering email accounts and other services for free that AOL has historically charged for.