By Leo Reyes.
This is about the reduction of employees of Yahoo as the company struggles with the continuing economic downturn in the USA and elsewhere in the world.
Internet giant Yahoo is laying off employees starting this year. The company began notifying employees who are included in the list. About 1,500 employees are scheduled to be laid off before the end of the year. Yahoo says that more employees will be laid off next year as the company plans to consolidate its offices in North America.
The good news though is that Yahoo is planning to hire more in other parts of the world including India, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.
“ If the economy continues to falter, Yahoo is prepared to cut more jobs and other expenses in 2009” said Blake Jorgensen, Yahoo Chief Financial Officer. In a blog post last Wednesday, Yahoo CEO Jerry Young said “The reductions we’re making are very hard, but they are also necessary, as we focus on the long-term health of the business”
It may be recalled that Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo for $46 Billion Dollars early last year but the deal did not materialize. Yahoo then announced that the offer was unacceptable. Microsoft did not offer any further adjustments. An investment banker said that Yahoo could get $15 Billion up front for its search business from Microsoft to compete with Google. Last week though, Steve Ballmer Microsoft Chief Executive said that his company is still interested in acquiring Yahoo’s search business.
In the meantime, Yahoo is getting stronger in many parts of Asia. In the Philippines and other Asian countries it remains as the market leader.
Good business sense dictates that expansion and diversification can be made in areas that offer more revenues and certainly Asia is one of the areas where Yahoo can expand.
Earlier, Yahoo CEO Jerry Young, announced his intention to step down and the search for his replacement is underway. Clearly, the candidate for the job must be a “turn-around” guy as Yahoo seems headed for a possible downturn at this time.
With the continued economic slowdown in the US and elsewhere in the world, Yahoo may soon open its door to Microsoft for a new round of negotiations as some of its major investors are recommending. Such an arrangement can save thousands of employees from getting laid off or separated.
