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AOL shuts down German operations

The venerable US internet services company AOL is closing its offices in Germany after 15 years, a spokesperson told branch website Meedia.de late on Monday.

Published: 12 January 2010 11:26 CET
Updated: 12 January 2010 13:31 CET
AOL shuts down German operations
Photo: DPA

The firm’s operations in Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich will be shuttered, and some 140 employees will be out of work, the website reported. The measure is part of a companywide plan to cut costs that also includes the closure of their French office.

But AOL.de will remain online and email accounts through the company will remain accessible.

Meanwhile the company’s international branch for digital marketing AdTech will not be affected by the move, Meedia.de said.

AOL.de’s company spokesperson Thomas Knorpp said that negotiations for employee redundancy compensation are underway.

According to Meedia.de another 500 US employees are set to lose their jobs, in addition to some among their 11 international offices such as Spain and Sweden.

The Internet pioneer had announced on Monday that it would cut jobs after a voluntary departure programme failed to meet a target of trimming one-third of its global workforce.

AOL, which was spun off from media giant Time Warner last month after a troubled merger, had announced in November it would take a $200-million charge as part of a restructuring as it regained independence.

In December, AOL said the reduction in the workforce, representing about 2,500 jobs, was to be voluntary, with involuntary layoffs to be used only if the restructuring target were not met.

But only 1,100 employees took the voluntary departure programme, AOL spokeswoman Alysia Lew said on Monday.

AOL, which employed 19,000 people in 2006, will have 4,400 employees after the restructuring plan is completed.

The company is currently the number four gateway to the Web after Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, while its dial-up Internet access business has been gradually supplanted by high-speed broadband services.

Time Warner combined with America Online in 2001 at the height of the dotcom boom with AOL using its inflated stock as currency for the transaction.

Time Warner was forced in 2002 to massively write down the value of AOL and the AOL name was removed from the group’s corporate title in 2003.

AOL, formerly known as America Online, became a separate traded company on December 10.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Bavaria is no doubt a beautiful state with a strong economy, but can be a hard place for non-German speakers to integrate. The Local takes a look at job opportunities in Germany’s southeastern 'Free State.'

Published: 7 February 2024 10:54 CET
Updated: 10 February 2024 08:20 CET
Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions. 

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds. 

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local. 

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with. 

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