America Online Cuts 700 Jobs
America Online, the new-media behemoth that bought Time Warner five years ago, announced 700 layoffs in its dial-up operations Wednesday. AOL is now a division of Time Warner and is being courted by other Internet companies.
STEVE INSKEEP, host:
The business news starts with cost-cutting at America Online. AOL is eliminating 700 jobs, reducing costs as it's being courted by other Internet companies. NPR's Nova Safo reports.
NOVA SAFO reporting:
When AOL purchased Time Warner five years ago, their move was hailed as the harbinger of the future, giants of old and new media combining to create a powerful force. Today, AOL is a division within Time Warner, steadily losing its dial-up subscribers. Most of the job cuts announced yesterday were in its dial-up operation.
But AOL is still a major player on the Internet, with more than 20 million subscribers, and this past summer it introduced a new content-rich Web portal for non-subscribers, supported by online advertising. AOL's online broadcasts of the Live 8 concerts for Africa in July drew higher ratings than the comparable TV broadcasts. Now AOL is in talks with Microsoft, Comcast, Yahoo! and Google, all of which want to tap into that market share.
Nova Safo, NPR News.
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