( CNN ) -- Getting the ax is hard . But it 's a lot harder with 1,000 of your co-workers listening in . One employee of Internet giant AOL was canned in a very public way because he apparently tried to take a photo of the boss during a mass conference call . AOL CEO Tim Armstrong was on a call about the future of Patch , the hyperlocal news websites he founded , when he noticed Patch 's creative director Abel Lenz and his camera . `` Abel -- put that camera down right now . Abel ! You 're fired . Out ! '' Armstrong said , according to audio obtained by the media blog JimRomenesko.com . The call fell silent for five uncomfortable seconds . Then , Armstrong resumed business as usual . `` If , uh , you guys think that AOL has not been committed to Patch and wo n't stay committed to Patch , you 're wrong , '' he said . Lenz later tweeted from a New York bar : `` No comment . '' Incidentally , less than a minute before Lenz 's fatal snapshot , Armstrong said he did n't care if anyone leaked information about Patch . `` I also want to clear up the fact that leaking information or anything around Patch is n't going to bother me , '' the CEO said . `` It does n't bother me , I 'm not changing direction . '' AOL and Lenz have not responded to CNN 's request for comment . According to Business Insider , the call took place Friday amid news that AOL is slashing the number of Patch sites from 900 to 600 . While some employees were reportedly expecting to hear about layoffs , no one expected to hear a firing live during the call . Court : It was OK to fire 'irresistible ' worker .
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong was on a conference call about Patch , the local news network . `` Abel -- put that camera down right now . Abel ! You 're fired . Out ! '' he tells an employee . Abel Lenz , who was Patch 's creative director , later tweeted `` No comment '' Business Insider : AOL is slashing the number of Patch sites from 900 to 600 .