Yahoo Layoffs, Massive Restructuring Planned for Internet Company
Reports circulating Tuesday indicate that Scott Thompson, CEO of Internet giant Yahoo, is planning a massive restructuring of the firm that will result in layoffs numbering in the thousands.
The report comes from the news website AllThingsD.com, which, according to its multiple inside sources, reports that massive layoffs will be announced as soon as the end of this month.
Thompson, who took the reigns as Yahoo's CEO in the beginning of 2012, plans on reshaping Yahoo's weaker divisions in order to cut costs and boost the company's floundering numbers on Wall Street.
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Thompson recently hired Boston Consulting Group to help with the transition, and according to AllThingsD.com, the company will make significant job cuts in "public relations and marketing, research, marginal businesses and weaker regional efforts."
In an emailed statement to MSNBC.com, Yahoo said, "As we have indicated, our leadership is engaged in a process that will generate significant strategic change at Yahoo, but final decisions have not yet been made at this point. Beyond that, we will not comment."
As MSNBC.com reports, Thompson may just be the right boss for the job. He excelled in his former position as president of PayPal. Although this massive layoff is bound to cause waves, this is not the first time Thompson has stirred controversy since his initiation as CEO in Jan. 2012.
Shortly after Yahoo announced Thompson's hire on Jan. 4, 2012, the new CEO warned Facebook of litigation, arguing that the social media platform needed licensing for patents used in its advertising systems.
Prabhakar Raghavan, head of Yahoo's lab unit, recently left the company for its competitor Google. Tech reports indicate that this is a surefire sign that Yahoo plans to massively cut its workforce.
"Yahoo thanks Prabhakar Raghavan for his dedication and contributions to Yahoo for the past seven years," said Yahoo in a statement, according to Search Engine Watch.
"We wish him well in his next endeavor. Ash Munshi, chief technology officer, will oversee Yahoo Labs," the statement added.
Yahoo's lab branch specializes in search technologies, focusing on text, web mining, and algorithm design, reports Search Engine Watch.
Although the Internet firm has yet to confirm its plans for layoffs, media outlets agree that one is in the near future.
