- Signs of Stability, but 'We're Not All Satisfied': GM CEO
- Weak US Housing Market Drags on Lowe's Profit
- There's a Gold Bubble: Gartman
- BlackRock: Central Banks To Be Net Buyers of Gold
- Cisco Ups Tandberg Bid, Claims Over 40% Backing
- Stronger Yuan Needed for Global Rebalancing: IMF Chief
- Small US Cities Lose Luster in Downturn
- How Much Do You Know About Green?
- Solar Energy Emerges From a Dark Period
- GM Cuts Losses—Plans Early Loan Repayment
- Schork Oil Outlook: Still Bearish Crude, But Skeptical
- Michelle Wie Wins, Now What?
- Taking a Page from Obama's Asia Agenda in Investing
- Warren Buffett to CNBC: 'I Haven't Bought American Express In Years'
- CNBC Video: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping American Great
- U.S. Stocks Rally for the Second Straight Week
- Dollar is Not Plunging—So 'Calm Down': Market Strategist
- Strategists Say Markets Have More Upside — But How Much?
MOST SHARED
- U.S. May Wind Up Green With Envy
- CNBC Video: Warren Buffett & Bill Gates - Keeping American Great
- Warren Buffett to CNBC: 'I Haven't Bought American Express In Years'
- Stronger Yuan Needed for Global Rebalancing: IMF Chief
- EADS Cautious on Full-Year Forecast after Earnings Dip
- Taking a Page from Obama's Asia Agenda in Investing
- BlackRock: Central Banks To Be Net Buyers of Gold
- Weak US Housing Market Drags on Lowe's Profit
Text Size 
 |
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 [YHOO
Loading...
()
] 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.
Company executives have said that to achieve its “starting point” goal, Yahoo would continue to invest in areas like Internet search, e-mail, the Yahoo front page and the personalized home-page service MyYahoo, as well as news, finance and sports.
Some other areas would be de-emphasized. In recent months, Yahoo said it would phase out or consolidate services like photos, premium music, auctions and Yahoo 360, a largely unsuccessful social network.
During the weekend, some blogs reported that Yahoo was considering layoffs of 10 to 20 percent of its work force. But the people close to the company, who discussed Yahoo’s layoff plans on condition that they not be identified, said the cuts would most likely be in the hundreds.
The last time Yahoo had sizable layoffs was in 2001, after the dot-com crash. During the last year, the company added several hundred people, some through hiring and some through acquisitions of companies like the online advertising specialists Right Media and BlueLithium and the e-mail provider Zimbra.
Mr. Yang and other Yahoo executives have said recently that they believe that those acquisitions and a series of reorganizations have primed the company for a turnaround. But they have cautioned that financial results may not improve quickly. They have also said they believe Yahoo can succeed as an independent company, amid growing speculation that the company could become a takeover target.
With the stock price sliding, Mr. Yang and the board may see layoffs as necessary to ensure that the company can indeed remain independent. Yahoo shares have lost more than half of their value since early 2006, closing Friday at $20.78.
Print
Email
- Where, what, how.
- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates spoke to Columbia students, and Buffett made the students a startling offer.
- For the chief of cable company Comcast, growth has been about making deals – generally very large deals.
- Some companies may start using insurance to shift carbon risk from their balance sheets to maybe... yours?
- The president and founder of Genesis Today wants to improve America’s health, and thinks Wal-Mart can help.
- If a terrible driver on your morning commute has you feeling like you want to scream, check out this website.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes