Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has confirmed the big secret that most financial and employment readers already knew was coming soon. The layoffs have been confirmed. Yahoo! is talking about reshaping the company for the future as a ‘smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped’ company to focus on core businesses and on its most urgent priorities.
The news ordained CEO Scott Thompson from PayPal is still expected to unveil changes ahead. If the rumors of the pre-announcement are accurate, that could translate to even more layoffs down the road.
Starting today, approximately 2,000 people will be notified of job elimination or “phased transition.” The company is projecting a pretax charge in the vicinity of $125 million to $145 million, and it expects to realize some $375 million in annualized savings upon completion of this plan. It is still to soon to tally up the total charges because Yahoo! noted specifically that the company “may incur additional charges in connection with this action.”
Again, today’s wave of layoffs may not be the last. We have heard figures higher than 2,000 and whatever direction Scott Thompson takes the company could really change things ahead. The company ended with the note, “More information will be provided about Yahoo!’s future direction in conjunction with the release of its first quarter financial results on April 17, 2012.”
JON C. OGG
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