Yahoo to lay off hundreds
SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) - January 22, 2008 The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have both
reported on the slumping Internet icon's cost-cutting plans, citing
people familiar with the matter.
Precisely how many of Yahoo's roughly 14,000 employees will lose
their jobs hasn't been determined, the newspapers said. A final
decision could be announced Jan. 29 when Yahoo executives are
scheduled to review the Sunnyvale-based company's fourth-quarter
results.
If several hundred employees are dumped, it will mark Yahoo's
most extensive layoffs since 2001 when the company was trying to
battle back from the dot-com bust.
The payroll purge was first reported over the weekend by Silicon
Alley Insider, a blog focused on investments in technology and
media. The blog said Yahoo had drawn up a list of 1,500 to 2,500
jobs that could be eliminated, but Monday's reports indicated
management doesn't expect the cuts to be that deep.
A Yahoo spokeswoman didn't immediately return calls seeking
comment.
It won't come as a surprise if Yahoo jettisons workers, said
Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry. He believes Yahoo
has room to trim its work force by about 5 percent, or 700
employees, after phasing out some of its services, such as auctions
and photos, during the past year.
Besides falling further behind Silicon Valley rival Google Inc.
in the lucrative Internet search and advertising market, Yahoo also
has been struggling to hold on to younger Web surfers as they spend
more time on hip online hangouts like Facebook.com and MySpace.com.
The problems have slowed Yahoo's revenue growth even as spending
on online ads accelerates. That trend has devastated Yahoo's stock,
which has plunged by nearly 50 percent since the end of 2005. Yahoo
shares finished last week at $20.78.
With shareholders clamoring for a shake-up, Yahoo co-founder
Jerry Yang took over as the company's chief executive last June,
replacing former movie studio mogul Terry Semel.
Yang has promised to re-establish Yahoo's position as the Web's
most popular "starting point" while building a compelling ad
network, but his progress hasn't impressed investors so far. Since
Yang became CEO, Yahoo's stock price has declined by 25 percent
while Google shares have surged by more than 15 percent.
Earlier this month, Yahoo opened its mobile platform so outside
programmers can develop new applications for Yahoo pages accessed
on mobile handsets. Yahoo hopes the mini-applications will bring
the company more money from advertising.
The company also unveiled a redesigned home page for mobile
phones that includes more content and enables visitors to designate
material they want highlighted.