JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- America Online confirmed for its Jacksonville employees what had been rumored for weeks: the company's call center on Kernan Road in Jacksonville is closing.

The center, which once employed more than 1,500 people when it opened 10 years ago, currently employs 780 workers, mostly handling AOL subscriber calls. As they arrived for work Tuesday, they were taken into a conference center and given the news.

"They're shutting down for financial reasons," one woman said as she drove off the AOL campus. "They don't need us any more."

Just before 6:30 a.m., AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham sent Channel 4 this statement:

"For a decade, AOL has been a part of this wonderful community. We’ve greatly valued the friendships we’ve made here, while providing significant investments to the local economy, tax base, and real estate market. As AOL grew, Jacksonville also grew into a world-class city.

"But, in recent years, the online marketplace shifted significantly. AOL’s membership has changed at the same time – and the needs of our members have evolved as well. During this time, Internet users got more savvy, our products and services became more stable, and we introduced more comprehensive self-help tools and products online. As a result, member support call volume is down by 50 percent in the past two years -- forcing AOL to rebalance our member services organization to make it more efficient, effective and responsive to the current needs of members and our business.

"This means making tough, but necessary, choices about the allocation of resources. There is never an easy time to do this. And it’s tough to say goodbye to this great city and its people. But the steps we take today will help ensure that AOL meets the needs of our members, meets our strategic corporate goals, and sustains the growth of our business."

Read AOL's Complete Statement

The cuts are part of a 7 percent reduction of AOL's worldwide work force announced Tuesday. A total of 1,300 people are losing their jobs, including 300 at a call center in Tucson, Ariz., and 125 at the Ogden, Utah, call center.

The layoffs announced represent the first major cuts since the Time Warner Inc. Internet unit cut about 700 positions last fall.

Some employees said were given severance packages.

As recently as last week, Jacksonville officials told Channel 4 they had not received any reduction-in-force notice from AOL.

Employees said the company also denied the rumors to them.

"They should have not let rumors go around. They should have just be an upfront, forward company that said 'Hey, we're going to close the call center ... in a couple of weeks," said Faye Elder, an AOL employee for the last nine years.

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton said he was also taken by surprise by the announcement, but believes the employees will not have a problem finding new jobs.

"The good news, though, is that we're in a near-full employment environment, which I think will make outplacement more successful," Peyton said Tuesday morning. "Plus, you've got a building that's in a part of town that I think has a great promise; a great facility. So I think, long term, we'll be alright."

A University of North Florida spokeswoman said UNF is interested in acquiring the property, which is located across Kernan Boulevard from the college.

The Legislature approved $14 million for UNF to acquire some land in the tech center in which AOL's call center is located. Gov. Jeb Bush has not signed the budget, so any action regarding the property is not likely to take place for several weeks.

At least on employment recruiter was standing AOL gate, handing out cards to workers as they left.