New York City ? AOL is eliminating another 2,000 jobs worldwide as it tries to cut costs and make room to grow in online advertising.

The 20 percent slice from AOL’s work force comes after several rounds of layoffs in recent years, including a cut of 5,000 jobs last fall. The latest cuts would give AOL more flexibility to expand ad-related businesses through acquisitions and potentially new hires, company officials said.

“This realignment will allow us to increase investment in high-growth areas of the company – as an example, we added hundreds of people this year through acquisitions – while scaling back in areas with less growth potential or those that aren’t core to our business,” AOL Chief Executive Randy Falco told employees Monday.

AOL believes it is now best at developing Web sites such as its Moviefone and MapQuest properties to attract people in some 30 countries, Falco said.

The cuts affect about 1,200 positions in the United States, including 750 in northern Virginia, where AOL has long had its headquarters.