AOL to Lay Off Hundreds of Patch Employees Next Week

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By Lauren Indvik2013-08-09 18:13:24 UTC

Tim Armstrong led a conference call with staffers of AOL's local news division, Patch, on Friday morning, following Wednesday's announcement that the company would implement "cost-cutting" measures at its underperforming Patch sites. Many staffers were expecting Armstrong to announce widespread layoffs, but Armstrong said notices will arrive over the course of the next week.

One staffer was reportedly already fired for taking a photo of Armstrong during the call, which originated in New York. "Abel, put that camera down. You’re fired. Out," Armstrong allegedly said, adding later that "Abel" was fired because he didn't "want anyone taking pictures of this meeting."

That must have done a great deal to improve staffers' already battered morale.

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Beyond the layoffs — which Armstrong labeled "impacts" — AOL's CEO confirmed that Bud Rosenthal, AOL's president of paid services, will replace Steve Kalin as CEO of Patch. (Another top executive, Patch's head of revenue and marketing, recently decamped for Bit.ly.) Armstrong will also be taking a more direct managerial role in Patch, which he said has been lacking "leadership" as of late, per Romenesko .

All told, the 400 least profitable of Patch's 900 sites will be closed or form partnerships with local news outlets in the coming weeks while the division shifts its focus to its best-performing sites. Armstrong pledged on the company's second quarter earnings call on Wednesday that Patch will be profitable by the fourth quarter of this year. Apparently, this requires some drastic measures.

Those not on board with the new plan have been asked to leave. "If it doesn’t sink in in a really real way, I’m going to ask to you leave Patch,” Armstrong said, according to CJR . “If you think what’s going on today is a joke, you should pick up your stuff and leave Patch today."

AOL declined to comment on the contents of the call. A source at AOL's corporate office would only say that a call took place between Armstrong and all Patch employees this morning.

Image: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Topics: AOL, Business, layoffs, Media, patch