Since its partnership with Microsoft for search results, it’s been rumored that Yahoo! was on the path to cutting off jobs. Now, rumors and their related figures have been confirmed, as Yahoo! makes a cut of over 600 employees.
As reported by Silicon Valley, Yahoo! has cut four to five percent of its total workforce, laying off somewhere between 600 and 700 employees. While the figures are official and confirmed, the exact employees trimmed from the company haven’t been finalized yet, and employees will begin receiving official word starting next week.
This major shift in personnel represents a continued pattern, since the struggling search engine has conducted three additional mass layoffs since the beginning of 2008. Additionally, many of the new jobs created by the company have been outsourced to former competitors, with their use of Microsoft’s search advertisements and algorithm providing the prime example.
The official Yahoo! announcement declared that the layoffs were “part of our ongoing strategy to best position Yahoo for revenue growth and margin expansion,” and that they intended to continue hiring for the products that the company intended to focus on. The strategic focus of the company indicates a push on products where the company can offer a unique approach and real differentiation from the competition, rather than redundant products that are quickly outmatched.
Yahoo! employees who are axed will receive a severance package, which should be enough to get them on their feet in a market where talented computer engineers are still in demand.
Despite the announcement, Yahoo’s stocks saw only a .04% drop in value. Since the beginning of 2010, Yahoo! has seen only a 2% increase in revenue. The poor growth is just the end of a long decline, however, as the company’s market value has been struggling since it peaked in 2006.
