Dulles-based AOL announced today it will move its corporate headquarters to New York. The shift is just another in a series of announcements regarding an overall restructuring of the Internet service provider that has included massive layoffs and a switch from fee-based subscriptions to a reliance on advertising revenue. The New York move was explained by AOL to be designed to place executives closer to the advertising industry based in Manhattan.

So far we’re hearing that AOL employees, of which there are about 4,000 at the Dulles offices, aren’t currently panicking that the move itself will affect their jobs — AOL has said that most of them will remain here. But the announcement is generally seen as just one layer of a transformation that could eventually either reshuffle a lot of positions or lead to more layoffs down the line for the large local employer.

For now however, the switch to Manhattan can be seen largely as a symbol of the dinosaur AOL has become over the years, as the combination of free services provided by Yahoo and Google and the growth of high-speed cable Internet connections has forced the company to change its business model entirely.