Author Topic: Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo  (Read 2851 times)

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Offline Wretched Excess

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Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo
« on: January 22, 2008, 04:58:30 PM »
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Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo is planning to lay off hundreds of employees in an effort to increase its profitability, prop up its deflated stock price and narrow the focus of its sprawling Internet portal to a smaller number of crucial areas, people close to the company said Monday.

The final number of layoffs from Yahoo’s work force of about 14,000 is yet to be determined and is likely to be announced around the end of the month, perhaps during Yahoo’s conference call on Jan. 29 with analysts after it reports fourth-quarter results, these people said.

Company executives are still trying to determine exactly which areas will be cut. One person close to the discussions said a final plan, or perhaps a few alternative plans, would be submitted to the board at a coming meeting. The plan’s final shape may be influenced by the company’s fourth-quarter performance, this person said.

Yahoo declined to comment specifically on any plan for layoffs. In an e-mail statement, a company spokeswoman, Diana Wong, said: “Yahoo plans to invest in some areas, reduce emphasis in others, and eliminate some areas of the business that don’t support the company’s priorities. Yahoo continues to attract and hire talent against the company’s key initiatives to create long-term stockholder value.”

The statement echoes a strategy sketched out in recent months by Jerry Yang, the company’s co-founder, who was appointed chief executive last summer amid growing shareholder dissatisfaction.

After a 100-day review of the company, Mr. Yang said in October that Yahoo would focus on three areas: becoming a “starting point” for the most consumers on the Web; extending its advertising offerings to sites across the Web; and opening up Yahoo’s technology infrastructure to third-party developers and publishers.

The strategy is aimed at revitalizing Yahoo, which has been eclipsed by Google in Internet search, and has faced increasing competition from social networks like MySpace and Facebook. As a result, Yahoo’s share of the overall online advertising market has declined. Still, the company remains a powerful force on the Internet, with about 500 million people visiting its sites around the world each month.

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yahoo has been googled.

Offline Hawkgirl

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Re: Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2008, 05:18:34 PM »
I fear this will be the trend this year, unless something miraculous happens.  Started with housing...then banking/financial institutions....it's going to trickle down to the corporate market as well....and eventually hit every consumer.

So much for soft landings....

Offline Chris_

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Re: Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2008, 05:30:11 PM »
I fear this will be the trend this year, unless something miraculous happens.  Started with housing...then banking/financial institutions....it's going to trickle down to the corporate market as well....and eventually hit every consumer.

So much for soft landings....

Mart corrections happen.  Me? I have a lot of ready cash so I think I'll be buying REITs and the like.

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