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AOL said Thursday it plans to cut one-third of its work force, or about 2,500 jobs, in an effort to trim $300 million in annual costs as part of its planned spin-off from Time Warner Inc.

The struggling Web pioneer, which is slated to become an independent company focused primarily on advertiser-supported content, said it had asked for volunteers, but will perform involuntary layoffs if enough workers do not step up.

AOL expects to take restructuring charges of up to $200 million, substantially all of which would be incurred from the date of the spin-off through the first half of 2010.

Earlier this week, Time Warner said AOL will become an independent entity on Dec. 9, nine years after the merger of the two companies.