AOL reverses unpopular retirement plan move

AOL Corp. CEO Tim Armstrong has abandoned a plan to delay company contributions to employee retirement accounts until the end of the year after workers complained.

“We heard you on this topic,” Armstrong wrote in a letter to employees Saturday.

In a move to cut costs, AOL had decided to pay matching 401(k) retirement contributions in one lump sum at the end of the year. Workers who left the company before the end of the year would have received no contributions, and all workers would sacrifice interest or earnings on those contributions throughout the year.

After a worker backlash, Armstrong said the company would return to depositing matching contributions every pay period throughout the year.

In the letter Saturday, Armstrong also apologized for bringing up specific health care examples during a town hall meeting in which the retirement plan was discussed. During the meeting, Armstrong cited higher health care costs in general and mentioned the high cost of health care for two women who gave birth to “distressed babies.”

“On a personal note, I made a mistake and I apologize for my comments last week,” he wrote in the letter Saturday.