Last week, in a town hall meeting, American Online’s (commonly referred to as AOL Inc.) Chief Executive officer Tim Armstrong offered two reason why the company needed to cut employee retirement plans: for the first, he pointed to two unidentified women who had “distressed babies” with health issues, with the second being, President Obama’s health care reforms that were sure to add millions of dollars to their bill. His words immediately caused an internet and media backlash; however, Armstrong caught his misstep early and sent out a memo to announce that the company would move back to its previous 401(k) policy—matching contributions on per-period basis rather than one lump sum at the end of the year.

Reuter’s were able to ascertain the email, and posted an excerpt from it, where the CEO recanted his statements:

“On a personal note, I made a mistake and I apologize for my comments last week at the town hall when I mentioned specific healthcare examples in trying to explain our decision making process around our employee benefit programs.”

Armstrong and the company are looking to move pass this guffaw and continue to progress. He declined comments, during the weekend, presumably to bring this incident to a full closure. We wish AOL and their staff well going forward.

Jimi (@Nativejimi)