Yahoo! today confirmed that it is taking important next steps to reshape
the company for the future.
“Today’s actions are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo! –
smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as
fast as our customers and our industry require. We are intensifying our
efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most
urgent priorities. Our goal is to get back to our core purpose – putting
our users and advertisers first – and we are moving aggressively to
achieve that goal,” said Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo!. “Unfortunately,
reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate positions.
We deeply value our people and all they’ve contributed to Yahoo!.”
Yahoo! has a solid foundation – nearly 700 million users and thousands
of advertisers that engage with Yahoo! properties regularly and trust
the company with their data and their business. Through its
restructuring efforts, Yahoo! intends to grow by responding more quickly
to customer needs and competing more effectively in areas where it can
win. Yahoo! has identified key parts of the business – a select group of
core businesses, the platforms that support those core businesses, and
the data that drives deep personalization for users and ROI for
advertisers – where the company will intensify efforts and redeploy
resources globally, all focused on increasing shareholder value. With a
clear focus on profitability and growth, the company will be disciplined
in its investments and radically simplify how it builds, launches and
maintains many of its properties and products.
Today, the company will begin the process of informing employees about
these changes. As part of that effort, approximately 2,000 people will
be notified of job elimination or phased transition.
Yahoo! expects to realize approximately $375 million of annualized
savings upon completion of all employee transitions. The company
currently expects to recognize the majority of an estimated $125 to $145
million pretax cash charge relating to employee severance in its second
quarter financial results. The company may incur additional charges in
connection with this action.