AOL Inc. laid off about 20% of its work force Thursday, eliminating 950 jobs in the U.S. and India in its latest attempt to revive its business.

About 200 employees who work for the Internet company's U.S.-based media and technology groups lost their jobs, according to a person familiar with the matter. The U.S. cuts were focused on pruning staff from AOL's content sites, particularly ones that overlapped with the Huffington Post website, which the company acquired for $315 million this week.

AOL...