AOL Finishes Layoffs of 375 in Virginia 
 
AOL Finishes Layoffs of 375 in Virginia 
Thursday, August 23, 2001 
By Alec Klein and Cynthia L. Webb,
Washington Post Staff Writers 

AOL Time Warner Inc. confirmed Thursday that the toll from its recently 
announced restructuring amounted to just over 375 laid-off employees in Northern 
Virginia, the biggest cutback at the Internet division in more than two years. 
The New York-based media giant, grappling with a lackluster advertising market, 
began letting people go on Wednesday and completed the task Thursday in Dulles, 
where it runs the world's largest online service, the company confirmed. 
The cuts in the Washington region represent 22 percent of the estimated 1,700 
layoffs that AOL announced Tuesday after weeks of speculation. The layoffs in 
Virginia accounted for about 8 percent of the region's 4,800 AOL workers. The 
online division, which has a far-flung workforce of about 16,000, has been 
targeted for about 1,200 of the layoffs. The rest are coming from a joint 
venture between AOL and Sun Microsystems Inc. 
As the company began handing out pink slips, it became increasingly clear 
Thursday that the cuts were taking place across the board. Those who were let go 
worked in areas including software development, AOLTV, its interactive 
television unit, and its content business, which creates news and information 
for online users, according to sources. 
A worker in Dulles described the mood Thursday as "just quiet, very discreet," 
saying that it was difficult to tell that people were being let go. 
Despite the quietude, the cuts went deeper than previous restructurings. In 
January, shortly after America Online and Time Warner consummated their $112 
billion merger, the company announced the elimination of 725 jobs at its 
Internet division, including about 300 in the Washington area. In March 1999, 
the company laid off about 850 employees, including about 250 locally. 
For the latest round, sources said that AOL's human resources department set up 
shop Thursday in conference rooms at headquarters to help process the layoffs, 
calling people in to give them the news. The company said Tuesday that laid-off 
employees will be given at least four months of salary and health-care benefits. 
Stock options will be accelerated for most, the company said. 
AOL executives insist the cutbacks are being driven not by economic 
circumstances but by the company's need to stay competitive in the rapidly 
evolving Internet marketplace. Still, the layoffs cast a pall over the suburban 
campus. 
"I'm hearing it's very tense, people are very unhappy," said a former AOL 
employee. "Even for people who are not laid off, it's a terrible thing." 


© 2001 The Washington Post Company