Off Topic: AOL Already Preparing for their 4th Annual Holiday Layoff

Who says the (relatively) new management at AOL has no sense of tradition? Techcrunch is getting my former colleagues prepared for what could be another massive bloodletting just in time for the holidays.

Update On Netscape.com: It’s Done, Possibly Moving To WOW.com. Big AOL Layoffs Coming.: "We also expect to hear about material layoffs at AOL in the next six weeks, possibly as much as 15% of the 16,000 strong workforce. Next week the senior execs are supposed to be notified of the exact size of the cuts and whether they are targeted to specific business groups or across the board cuts."

Most of the people I know (that AOL should go out of their way to keep), are probably licking their chops at the opportunity to get a severance package this time around. It's like a big game... play your cards right and try to get "on the list", start looking for a new job, and if you can time the new job to start right after the layoff you have basically got yourself a nice couple of months of double pay.

Those that aren't lucky enough to win at layoff roulette will then probably ride it out until March (bonus payout time), then jump ship. The good news is that I think the market forces are aligning such that Northern Virgina may have the opportunity to become a hot bed for new media start-ups. Let's hope.