UPDATED 01:43 EST / FEBRUARY 03 2016

NEWS

Yahoo says “adieu” to 15 percent of its staff

Yahoo! Inc. yesterday confirmed rumors that it’s to layoff 15 percent of its workforce and close down some of its online services as part of a major new turnaround plan.

The struggling Web giant plans to focus its efforts on Mail, Search and Tumblr, while shutting down digital magazines and services like Yahoo! Games and Smart TV. Once the reorganization concludes, Yahoo’s workforce will number around 9,000 employees, which is almost 40 percent less than it had in 2012.

Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer said it was a “strong plan calling for bold shifts in products and in resources”, during a video conference call yesterday.

Mayer is aiming to slash the company’s expenses by $400 million a year by the end of 2016. In addition, her plan calls for the company to look into the sale of “non-strategic assets” that could add around $1 billion to its coffers.

“The Board also believes that exploring additional strategic alternatives, in parallel to the execution of the management plan, is in the best interest of our shareholders,” said Yahoo’s chairman Maynard Webb. “Separating our Alibaba stake from our operating business continues to be a primary focus, and our most direct path to value maximization. In addition to continuing work on the reverse spin, which we’ve discussed previously, we will engage on qualified strategic proposals.”

The plan would seem to be Mayer’s last shot at placating Yahoo’s shareholders and buying more time to restore the company to growth, something she’s so far failed to do in more than three years leading the company.

The main idea, as Webb noted, is to separate Yahoo’s stake in Chinese eccomerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. by selling off or spinning off its Internet businesses.

Mayer announced the plan following the company’s fourth quarter earnings report, which was mostly in line with Wall Street’s expectations. Yahoo reported flat revenues of $1.3 billion for the year, but net income fell somewhat precipitously from a $166 million profit last year to a $4.4 billion loss this year. That deficit can be explained by a massive goodwill impairment charge, which essentially means that Yahoo now values its brands at much less than they were before.

“In 2016, a smaller product portfolio emphasizing Yahoo’s core strengths will yield better focus, execution, and ultimately clearer value to shareholders, advertisers and users,” Yahoo said in a statement.

It added the changes announced Tuesday will return it to “modest and accelerating growth in 2017 and 2018.”

Mayer took over at Yahoo almost four years ago, and her time in the hot seat has seen her spend heavily on acquisitions like that of Tumblr, but the strategy has yet to pay off.

Image credit: heartandhome via pixabay

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