SAN FRANCISCO (November 20, 2009)--AOL says it plans to shed as many as 2,500 jobs or about a third of the struggling Internet company's work force as it prepares to separate from Time Warner.

AOL has pared thousands of workers in recent years and now employs about 6,900.

The company is asking for volunteers to accept buyouts, but if it falls short of its target, AOL plans layoffs to reach its payroll reduction goals.

The cuts will leave AOL at less than a quarter the size it was at its peak in 2004.

The reductions show the Internet company is trying to become lean as it leaves Time Warner's side in three weeks, but it's unclear how the cuts will help AOL, which has been trying to reinvent itself as a content and advertising company amid an ongoing decline in its legacy dial-up Internet access business.

The job cuts still need approval from the new AOL board.