Business

Public firing could burn AOL’s Armstrong

After firing a hapless employee in front of 1,000 co-workers, AOL boss Tim Armstrong is not only dealing with bad publicity — he’s also inviting a lawsuit.

Last week, during a tense conference call with editors of AOL’s Patch local news network, Armstrong unceremoniously dismissed creative director Abel Lenz for trying to take his picture.

Several minutes into the call, Armstrong is heard admonishing Lenz, who was in the New York office.

“Abel, put that camera down. You’re fired. Out!,” Armstrong said, according to a recording of the call on Jimromenesko.com.

Legal experts say the axed employee — who was snapping a picture of his boss as he had done during other conference calls — could have solid grounds for a suit against his former employer.

“The danger of firing someone in front of all those people, he could say that the termination makes it harder for him to get a job or damages his career,” said Randi Kochman, an employment lawyer at Cole Schotz.

Lenz could not be reached for comment.

During the call, Armstrong said he would pull the plug or find partners for 400 of the division’s 900 local news websites as he feels pressure from the board to stanch the red ink.

As part of the restructuring, AOL is expected to fire hundreds of Patch employees in the coming days. AOL has spent more than $300 million on Patch since 2009, and it has yet to turn a profit.

Armstrong was one of the co-founders of Patch, which AOL bought for $7 million shortly after Armstrong became CEO.

Calls to Armstrong and Patch press representatives were not returned.