Jerry Yang Announces Yahoo Layoffs

Jerry Yang, Yahoo’s current CEO has sent a short but expected note announcing the start of Yahoo’s layoffs.

Employees targeted will be told this morning whether they will be on of about 1500 (10%) of Yahoo’s workforce to leave the company. The layoffs are not from one particular part of Yahoo – but are expected to be from all areas of the company.  .

Most employees apparently do not know if they will be let go which is likely to make this one of the most anxious days of the companies existence.

Below is Jerry Yangs’ memo to his staff:

yahoos,

today, most of our layoffs in the US are happening, and they’ve been underway in other regions around the world. 



this is a tough time for all of us and i wanted to take a moment to reach out to you.

saying goodbye to colleagues and friends is never easy. they all are dedicated members of our yahoo! family, who worked beside us and shared our passion.

but as you all know, we must take actions to better perform in today’s turbulent global economy. while we’ve found efficiencies in many parts of our business, laying off employees is unfortunately unavoidable. our difficult decision to let colleagues go reflects the changes we’re having to make to better align costs with revenues – something businesses in virtually every sector are also having to do.

for those who are affected by these layoffs, i am extremely grateful for your contributions to yahoo!. we realize the impact this will have on you. that’s why, consistent with our past practices, we’re making every effort to support you with severance packages and other services.

the reductions we’re making are very hard, but they are also very necessary — as we focus on the long-term health of our business. to those who are leaving us, i extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of yahoos everywhere — you will be missed.

thanks,
jerry

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