Heads We Win, Tails You Lose

The owners of the Huffington Post scored big when they sold the online news website to AOL for an eye-popping $315 million. The deal officially closed today. After popping champagne, AOL lowered the boom: It will cut its workforce by about 20% worldwide. That's about 900 jobs. The new "organizational structure" will allow AOL to "significantly improve" its focus on growth, wrote CEO Tim Armstrong in his company-wide pink slip. Though it will come as cold comfort to the newly unemployed, AOL's stock hit an all-time low today despite its maneuverings. All is fair in love and capitalism; and AOL certainly has the right to pursue it's corporate interests. But the layoff edict issued by captain of industry Armstrong still feels like "heads we win, tails you lose."