Today’s workday may be another tough eight hours for AOL employees. CEO Tim Armstrong himself has confirmed that more layoffs will occur due to the acquisition of the Huffington Post, and while the timing remains uncertain, tensions are sure to run high as rumors suggest people could start losing their jobs any time.
To first discuss who’s supposed to be safe: employees of Engadget and TechCrunch should all be left alone, as Arianna Huffington said in an interview with Beet.TV that she “won’t mess” with them.
Also, if it’s of any comfort to anyone, Armstrong, who said at the PaidContent 2011 Conference that his father had once been laid off, did at least promise, “[W]e’ll do it thoughtfully.”
As for some of the people who could be at greatest risk, the Times of India reported this morning, “There is a buzz that AOL India is about to lay off people. Some say the scale of layoffs would be substantial.”
Not much else is known for sure. AOL’s supposed to see $20 million in savings thanks to the acquisition, but the company hasn’t discussed the details of where all that money will come from.
If we can confirm how many people or which departments will be affected, we’ll be sure to report those facts later.