AOL Time Warner reveals merger costs of close to $1bn

LONDON - AOL Time Warner has revealed that the cost of restructuring its workforce to eliminate duplications throughout the merged operations will amount to around $1bn (£699.5m).

A large slice of that figure -- around $585m (£408.9m) -- will be in redundancy payments to the 2,400 staff it announced it planned to lay off in January.

Around $400m (£280m) will be related to the termination of leases and contracts on buildings, including the its Warner Bros retail outlets.

The figure, submitted to the Securities and Exchange Committee, could be higher still. The media and internet giant said the $965m (£674.5m) it estimated is based on the management's current plans.

Analysts said they are surprised at the scale of the restructuring but regarded the workforce reduction and restructuring of the business as being positive long-term moves.



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