We have heard that some folks slated for termination at AOL next week will be granted a 60-day reprieve (until December 16), with the aim of reducing the number of people let go next week--and, thus, the media attention around the layoffs.
We can't confirm this, and it is such a bad idea that it just doesn't sound right to us:
- Layoffs are painful for all involved, but they are far less damaging to a company's reputation when taken in one lump. AOL already has a reputation for "death by a thousand cuts." Adding another cut here won't help. It will also be yet another round of "holiday layoffs."
- Delaying some layoffs will not reduce media attention about "AOL Layoffs"--it will prolong it. It will also keep remaining employees in a state of gallows-desperation for the next two months, which is not conducive to work required to get AOL back on track.
- The layoffs have already received considerable media attention. Whether they end up being 500, 1000, 2000, or 3000 won't change the coverage much. A second round, moreover, will just thrust AOL Layoffs into the headlines again.
We imagine this logic is obvious within AOL and Time Warner, too.
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