An America Online spokesman declined to confirm reports on Reuters and AP on Tuesday that it plans to lay off over 700 employees from its Dulles, Va. headquarters next month. The spokesman said AOL
executives plan to address the reports in an earnings-related conference call this morning. A New York-based AOL employee told
MediaDailyNews that he had not heard about widespread layoffs at
the company's Dulles, Va. headquarters, but that an employee who works with his unit to provide data and intelligence on third-party vendors received notice of his termination a month ago.
By the
second quarter of 2004, AOL's U.S. subscriber base had dropped by 2 million to 23.4 million, compared to the second quarter of 2003. Experts attribute the loss to lower-cost and no-cost rivals, and
high-speed cable and telephone Internet services. An online advertising rebound has offset some of AOL's lost subscriber revenue.
