AOL will begin a much-anticipated mass layoff round today, the head of HR wrote to staff. Fired workers — an estimated 1,400 of them — will largely be leaving on Wednesday. Then the internet conglomerate can hire in India. AOL is planing to expand its technical staff in South Asia, according to briefings within the company earlier this month. But first the company, in the midst of a major restructuring under CEO Tim Armstrong, must make major cuts stateside. By spreading the cuts among AOL's offices, the company will avoid having to give costly, lengthy firing notices under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification act. Let's hear it for the bottom line.

An excerpt from VP Dave Harmon's memo forwarded to us by a tipster:

In the United States, we will begin notifying a limited number of individuals today, with the majority of notifications taking place in the U.S. on Wednesday, January 13. As of this point, this layoff will not trigger the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) in any of our locations. For many of the employees impacted in the U.S., Wednesday will be their last day in the office. My team will be on hand to help answer questions and provide separation package information.

You can read the full memo at Alley Insider.