RSSYahoo's 1,000 layoffs begin, along with a possible rush to Google
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published February 13, 2008, 4:04 PM
Even before Microsoft offered its buyout bid, Yahoo acknowledged plans to lay off about 1,000 workers. Now, those layoffs are under way, regardless of Microsoft's acquisition hopes, with pink slips being handed to the leaders of Brickhouse and Yahoo Personals, among others.
The head of Yahoo's Advanced Technology Division, Bradley Horowitz, has accepted a job with Google, signaling the possible start of a rush of Yahoo employees to the company's main rival.
Many other folks with Yahoo experience on their resumes will be looking for work, too, since a number of Yahoo luminaries -- including Salim Ismael and Susan Mernit -- have already made it known they're pink-slipped.
At Yahoo, Horowitz, a graduate of the MIT Media Lab, oversaw products such as KickStart, the recently launched Yahoo Live, and Brickhouse.
Meanwhile, the 1,000-or-so layoffs that Yahoo promised before the Microsoft buyout bid have now begun in earnest. Ismail, who led Brickhouse, has reportedly said that he's voluntarily accepting a layoff package from Yahoo. Brickhouse folds in products such as Bravo Nation and Pipes.
Menit writes in her blog that she's gotten the heave-ho as head of Yahoo Personals.
"Well, the law of continuous revolution just gave me a good shove. Today is my last day at Yahoo, and the start of something new," according to Mernit. "What? No idea, yet."
She's also using her blog post to seek out information about short- and long-term consulting opportunities along with "real gigs."
Ryan Kuder, another pink-slipped Yahoo-er, Twittered a running log of his last hours at Yahoo.
"Y! layoffs today, I'm "impacted." I'm heading into work to pack my desk, get my severance paperwork and hand in my badge," he wrote.
Other former Yahoo staffers now reportedly with pink slips in their hands include Randy Farmer and Chip Morningstar, both credited with toiling on a "secret plan" formulated by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to "save" Yahoo.
i think they would have been layed off anyways, since buyouts and mergers tend to dismiss most of the employees. however, it is management that usually gets to boot.
i suppose looking at this from a different perspective, the overvalued company may have been overstaffed by a 1000 unproductive employeees, perhaps playing ping pong, arcade machines, etc most of the day...
unfortunately, i don't think that laying off the employees will save the company anyways. this is simply a sign/indication that the walls of the bubble are thinning and they are prolonging the inevitable.
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Yahho Stock as of now
https://www.etrade.walls...napshot.asp?symbol=YHOO
looks ok
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The value of Yahoo in people they have. Customers as well as workers. If they start loosing them nobody will give a dime for their shares soon.
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They should have accepted Microsoft's offer. I bet those 1,000 families sure wish they'd of accepted, anyway.
The board is screwing the company and doesn't give a da*n about anyone but themselves. This happens too often in today's world...
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???
A company concerned about it's bottom line? An owner that doesn't want to sell off all his hard work?
Yeah, damn them...
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Of course they care about nothing but themselves. They are businessmen. They have hearts of stone, veins of ice and blinders on to the pain they cause. Suffice to say it's sad but true that we are nothing more than expendable assets to these corporate types and nothing more.
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Drama much? You really should be in theater.
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I hate to see this to anybody. This is something I don't wish to happen to all. It sucks loosing a job, especially with the looming economic recession.
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labomba said:
"I hate to see this to anybody. This is something I don't wish to happen to all. It sucks loosing a job, especially with the looming economic recession."
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Wait a minute. PC Tool says there's not gonna be nor are we in a recession now. Tool must not be looking at all the indicators.
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Heh..
A comedian...
If I were the only one, it might actually be funny. Too bad I'm backed by economists, logic and common sense.
Don'tcha just hate it when that happens?
There's an election coming up. Everything will be exaggerated to make the current administration (and by extension the Party it represents) look bad. I really thought this was common knowledge....
You wouldn't be trolling, would you?
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It looks to me that the people at Yahoo are stalling the buyout from Microsoft just so they do a little sabotage to the company. They don't want MS to do well with it so create a little mess so they have something to clean up. So fire some people, go into a crappy deal with Real audio and just totally screw the company up before MS gets their hands on it.
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