News Buzz: AOL to slash payroll by 5,000 employees

[From time to time, I can't help noticing some big buzz out there in the world, I told myself, I'd better make a note of it, otherwise I'll forget...] So this time, AOL, as expected, said Thursday it expects to drop as many as 5,000 employees. The layoffs had been widely anticipated. In announcing AOL's strategy shift Wednesday, Time Warner said it expected to spend $250 million to $350 million through 2007 to implement the changes, about half of that for employee severance. The company did not say where the job cuts will take place, adding that most of the individual employees likely will be notified in late September or early October.