AOL CEO Tim Armstrong has tantrum, fires worker during call

AOL CEO stunned thousands of employees by firing a creative director for allegedly snapping his picture during a conference call announcing layoffs.

Tim Armstrong suddenly interrupted a speech he was giving to tell Abel Lenz, the creative director at AOL’s struggling Patch local-news network, he was out of a job.

On the audio Armstrong can be heard saying, “Abel, put that camera down right now! Abel, you’re fired. Out!”

After only a moment’s pause he carries on as if nothing had happened, ironically, assuring the Patch staff who were listening that AOL is fully committed to them.

The recording of Armstrong’s outburst was published on his website by media reporter Jim Romanesko.

When Romenesko tweeted at Lenz on Saturday for a comment on the firing, Lenz replied: “I appreciate the interest Jim, but I have nothing to share. Go Patch!”

Armstrong, a former top Google executive was one of the key backers of Patch, which he sold to AOL for $7 million in 2009, shortly after he became CEO of AOL.

He had hoped the news network would be key to his efforts to reinvent AOL after a decade of steady decline.

LISTEN TO TIM ARMSTRONG'S AMAZING OUTBURST: