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Topic: CXO

Yahoo lays off 2,000: Promises 'smaller, nimbler' company

Summary: Yahoo has confirmed it will cut nearly 15 percent of its workforce as it plans to evolve into a once-again leading online property.

Zack Whittaker

By for Between the Lines |

Yahoo confirmed today that 2,000 employees will be laid off later this year.

Chief executive Scott Thompson is sweeping out over 14 percent of the Yahoo workforce that no longer fit into his plans as part of Yahoo's long term evolution.

The forced exodus will result in a $125--$145 million in charges, and will save the company around $375 million annually.

Thompson hinted at his plans for a "smaller, nimbler, more profitable" Yahoo, in a statement released earlier today. He added that Yahoo will be "getting back to our core purpose" by "redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities" by putting its thousands of advertisers and 700 million users first.

Those who will be losing their jobs will be receiving their pink slips today. The product and marketing divisions are to be mostly affected, along with technology research, but many employees will remain on until their current projects are completed.

Yahoo executives warned that some advertisers may decide to pull back on spending on Yahoo in light of the employee layoffs and company reshuffle. It may even sell some of its assets, including its advertising platform, some have suggested.

But the company has been remarkably shy about sharing its long-term plans. Considering only a year ago Yahoo was looking for potential buyers, it can hardly fill shareholders with confidence when even the company doesn't know what it's plans are just yet.

More details on the strategy behind the employee layoffs will be given on April 17 during its first-quarter results.

After today, Yahoo's employee numbers will drop from 14,000 to an estimated 12,000 worldwide. It is thought many of these jobs will come from the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, where Yahoo has its European headquarters in Switzerland.

This is the sixth mass layoff of jobs in the past four years under three separate chief executives, but this by far inflicts the most damage on employee numbers. In 2008, as part of Yahoo's bid to weather the global financial crisis, it laid off 1,500 workers.

Yahoo has been developing its strategy from a marketing and portal company to an advertising business. The once-search giant derives most of tis annual revenues from advertising at more than $4 billion.

Yahoo's stock is up just shy of 1 percent in trading this morning.

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13 comments
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  • But they're making sure they keep all of their lawyers

    You know, places to be, people to sue, that sort of thing.
    William Farrel
    Reply Vote

    • yahoo should use those lawyers to sue M$

      for ruining their business with dirty deals.
      The Linux Geek
      Reply Vote

    • I see JJF was by to flag me.

      Guess I'm only allowed to make fun of MS, or else.
      William Farrel
      Reply Vote

  • Those layoffs will skip past the people who caused the problem...

    ... the executive management and board members who actually created the problems through mismanaging the company for their own benefit.

    The only people laid off will be the good loyal employees who did their jobs, and tried every day to make it a better company. They are the ones who will pay for management's greed and incompetence.

    I will bet you right now that not one single 'C' grade chief-anything will be out of a job.

    Regards,
    Jon
    JonathonDoe
    Reply Vote

    • yep. that's the way it works

      hopefully the smart people got out awhile ago.
      otaddy
      Reply Vote

    • Nonsense

      Had Microsoft bought out yahoo, they're would have been less competition for everybody as a whole and they would have laid off most of yahoo's workers due to redundancy. Certainly a lot more than the 2,000 mentioned here.

      The only ones who would've benefited from such a deal is their stockholders and I could care less about them. Let their fanboys here kiss their ass. They deserve it
      ScorpioBlack
      Reply Vote

  • Jerry Yang

    Horrible news - but, hey, at least Jerry Yang is still getting job offers.
    http://mankabros.com/blogs/chairman/2012/01/17/jerry-yang-manka-bros-would-like-to-offer-you-a-job/
    JillKennedy
    Reply Vote

  • Yahoo layoffs

    Hopefully some of their worst 'journalists' will be let go.
    inetcnslt@...
    Reply Vote

  • Since ABC came on board the news has really sucked [...]

    Broken links to the most interesting stories have happened to me at least three times since January 2012. All of those links were right from the Yahoo! homepage.

    The brighter side is, except for the annoying dating sites, there are those few products that I have my eye on to purchase that find their way into view with a link while checking my email.

    I am not sure if this is Yahoo! or because I am using Google as my default search engine?
    Zurk_Orkin
    Reply Vote

    • What are you talking about?

      [i]The brighter side is, except for the annoying dating sites, there are those few products that I have my eye on to purchase that find their way into view with a link while checking my email.[/i]

      I get those in Hotmail as well.

      The only effective way to get rid of them is using Adblock.
      ScorpioBlack
      Reply Vote

  • How can polar opposites both be first?

    [quote]"Thompson hinted at his plans for a ???smaller, nimbler, more profitable??? Yahoo, in a statement released earlier today. He added that Yahoo will be ???getting back to our core purpose??? by ???redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities??? by putting its thousands of advertisers and 700 million users first."[/quote]

    If you want to put users first, you start by not shoving unwanted advertising down their throats. If you want to put advertisers first, then users are reduced to contemptuous "marks." I fail to see how putting both "first" is even remotely possible.
    jvitous
    Reply Vote

  • What's a Yahoo anyhoo?

    I just don't get the relevance of Yahoo anymore. Other than search, something for which there are other, better engines, they really bring nothing to the plate. As original "Yahooers" fall by the wayside they will see a decrease in traffic ala AOL. Nimble is great, a product is better.
    dlangdon01
    Reply Vote

  • The end is near

    I think that Yahoo will have many more rounds of "business streamlining" with layoffs in following years. It is dying company just like AOL.
    paul2011
    Reply Vote
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