Last month, AOL entered into a $315 million deal to buy the Huffington Post and install Ariana Huffington as AOL’s editor-in-chief for all content offerings. Now, reports from inside the company as well as third-party media outlets indicate AOL is planning significant staff layoffs once the Huffington acquisition is finalized. Although speculation varies about the number of employees AOL plans to let go, the bets are that a significant portion of AOL’s editorial employees may be on the chopping block as Huffington’s organization moves in and AOL continues to try to slim its waistline in an effort to appeal to both investors and advertisers.
At a conference Thursday in New York City, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong has said only that “there will be job changes” as a result of the Huffington acquisition. All Things Digital reports AOL is planning an all-hands meeting with Armstrong and Huffington.
In the wake of the Huffington Post deal, AOL has already bid goodbye to its former content chief.
AOL’s last major round of job cuts was in late 2009, when CEO Tim Armstrong cut roughly 2,500 positions in an effort to trim costs.
In the meantime, AOL is apparently planning to send plates of Greek cookies (in honor of Huffington’s birthplace) and champagne to advertisers to celebrate the acquisition’s closing.
