Yahoo to lay off 600 to 700 workers (feeds.feedburner)

Published Tuesday 14 December 2010 12 H 24 ESTLast updated 14 December 2010 12 H 29 EST2 comments

Yahoo Inc. YHOO-Q prepares to dismiss between 600 and 700 workers in the most recent shake-up triggered by gloom Internet society.

Employees may be notified of job cuts as soon as Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the plans of yahoo. The person asked for anonymity because Yahoo had not made an official announcement.

The planned reductions represent approximately 5% of the Yahoo 14,100 employees labour market. It will mark fourth mass layoff of Yahoo over the last three years.

The two last housecleanings have undergone current CEO company, Carol Bartz, a veteran has committed more than two years, despite his lack of experience on the Web or in advertising - main source of income of Silicon Valley at Yahoo.

Round this week reductions is supposed to be concentrated in American product group of Yahoo, which already has undergone a redesign since Ms Bartz hired former Microsoft Corp. Executive Blake Irving to perform the division last spring.

Job cuts come as a shock. New of the impending layoff was the first month last two popular technology blogs, TechCrunch, and All Things Digital.

Low financial growth at Yahoo, stagnant stock prices and recent no-shows management have raised questions on the issue of whether Ms Bartz, itself could be the door before the expiry of his contract in January 2013.

Revenues of the company had edged place less than 2% in the first nine months of the year (US) $ 4.8 billion, reflecting the difficulty that yahoo was selling ads while the other Internet companies such as Google Inc. and Facebook are booming.

Google revenues rose 23 percent to nearly $ 21 billion in the first nine months of the year. Private company Facebook disclose its results but it is growing so fast that it had to spend more general headquarters of the earlier this year.

Yahoo stock prices fell 31 cents to close Monday for $16.70, below a few cents, where completed last year. Meanwhile, technology Nasdaq composite index rose by 16% this year.

Malaise has spurred speculation that opportunistic companies redemption could implement a takeover bid for Yahoo, possibly in partnership with another beleaguered icon Internet, AOL Inc.

Ms Bartz, 62, has repeatedly urged yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, is moving in the right direction, although it warned that it might be a year or two before there is a significant improvement in financial results for the company.