December 10th, 2008
Yang: Layoffs 'very hard,' 'very necessary'
Chief Yahoo Jerry Yang on Wednesday confirmed the company’s layoffs in the U.S. were underway and said the restructuring was “very hard, but they are also very necessary.”
Yahoo’s job cuts, reportedly 1,500 or so, are essentially being broadcast live via Twitter, blogs like BoomTown, Silicon Alley Insider and Valleywag, which even has the slides detailing how a manager should cut a worker (Techmeme).
In Yang’s letter to employees he said:
“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.”
Today, Yahoo’s layoffs and the human aspect–the notifications, the severance and the play by play will take center stage. But once the smoke clears two questions linger: Did Yahoo cut enough? And what’s Yahoo’s future look like?
That question will ultimately be answered by Yang’s replacement. In the meantime, shareholders are begging for a Yahoo-Microsoft search pact to find something to cheer about.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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