Media conglomerate AOL Time Warner is cutting 1,200 workers from its America Online division, the company announced on Tuesday. The company also said it was merging its various online entities into one giant, unified Internet company.
The restructuring eliminates the postions, the company said. In addition, AOL said it was sacking another 500 from its Netscape-Sun alliance, responsible for the Netscape Internet browser. The layoffs -- the third since the AOL-Time Warner merger in January -- had been rumored for much of the month.
The company said it would take a charge of 100 million to 125 million dollars in its third quarter for the cuts and related costs. The company said AOL Time Warner properties Netscape, Compuserve, Moviefone, MapQuest, instant messaging services and Internet sites from its media properties will be consolidated into the AOL Web Properties Group, to be headed by Jim Bankoff.
This new giant Internet group will then be used to cater to targeted markets such as music, entertainment, personal finance and travel fueled by the content generated by other AOL Time Warner media. Bureau Report