AOL cuts 125 Ogden jobs

AOL's Ogden operation cut 125 workers Tuesday as part of the company's elimination of 1,300 customer service jobs.

Virginia-based AOL now has about 400 employees in Ogden, according to spokesman Nicholas Graham.

The company eliminated about 780 jobs Tuesday by closing a customer call center in Jacksonville, Fla. A center in Tucson, Ariz., lost about 300 positions but will still have about 500 employees.

"Both Ogden and Tucson will remain open and operational," Graham told the Deseret Morning News on Tuesday. "The 125 positions there (in Ogden) are positions that end as of today. Employees were informed that today would be their last day of work at AOL.

"They are, however, eligible to receive additional pay and benefits for at least 30 days, and that includes salary, benefits and outplacement assistance. They are being provided a full and fair severance package."

In a prepared statement, Graham said the online marketplace and AOL's membership and its needs had changed in recent years. "During this time, Internet users got more savvy, our products and services became more stable, and we introduced more comprehensive self-help tools and products online. As a result, member support call volume is down by 50 percent in the past two years — forcing AOL to rebalance our member services organization to make it more efficient, effective and responsive to the current needs of members and our business," he said.

"This means making tough, but necessary, choices about the allocation of resources. There is never an easy time to do this. But the steps we take today will help ensure that AOL meets the needs of our members, meets our strategic corporate goals and sustains the growth of our business."

The affected employees in Ogden helped AOL subscribers who paid extra for premium services such as AOL Privacy Wall and AOL Music Now.

"It's important to note about these employees that AOL spends a great deal of time with these employees in terms of training, developing skills and worker education, and we believe the kind of workers we unfortunately have to bid farewell to today are workers that have the kind of skill sets that are very marketable and sought-after in today's work force," Graham told the Morning News.

The Ogden facility was established in 1995 with about 80 workers. Employment peaked a few years ago at about 750. The facility was able to avert cuts last October when AOL eliminated 700 positions across the U.S., including 450 through the closure of a center in Orlando, Fla.

In addition to Ogden and Tucson, AOL has customer service centers in Oklahoma City, Okla.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Europe; and Asia.