There is a growing list of alumni from Advertising.com who have gone on to start or take leadership roles in busy and growing startups.

As AOL plans its spinoff from Time Warner next month, company officials are planning on axing 2,500 employees from the workforce (a cut of about one-third). AOL is offering voluntary severance packages to its employees, which include the 400 at Advertising.com here in Baltimore.

We don't know yet if there's a target number for reductions in the Baltimore office. But I was told by a source this morning that as many as a dozen Advertising.com employees were already laid off last week.

So, are there any local companies that Advertising.com may instinctively turn to for jobs, especially in this tough economy? I've found three companies that have Advertising.com alumni and that may offer current Ad.com workers a safe haven if they have to leave:

1) Millennial Media -- Based in Canton's Can Factory complex, this 60-person company is growing fast and is at the top of its game, with several former Advertising.com execs in its ranks. It's an ad network that serves up content to mobile phones, and it's one of the biggest in the country, if not the world right now. Its main competitor, AdMob, was just snapped up by Google for $750 million last week. And Millennial is about to go on a hiring spree after raising $16 million in its latest venture capital financing round.

2) Lotame.com -- Located in Elkridge, this startup was founded in 2006 by Andy Monfried, a former senior executive of Advertising.com. The company mines social media networks and other online sites for demographic data and behavioral targeting campaigns, and has venture capital backing.

3) TidalTV -- This start-up online video advertising network, based here in Baltimore, was founded by Scott Ferber, who was one of the co-founders of Advertising.com. TidalTV, with a nine-person executive leadership team, also has an office in New York. It's in the middle of organizing a round of financing, but there's little doubt in observers' minds that Ferber would be interested in bringing about some former Advertising.com people.

Any other local companies out there in the Baltimore area that might offer a home for recent Advertising.com refugees?