Yahoo Layoffs Coming Wednesday

• Yahoo is to begin their long awaited layoffs this Wednesday. The number is expected to be at least 1,500 people, however some analysts are projecting as many as 2,000.
• Areas expected to get the boot: General, human resources, finance and advertising will take the biggest hit. Sales, programming and business development staff are all expected to stick around.
• Sources inside Yahoo say that they will exercise the Calacanis strategy of ‘fire them quick, don’t let the fear linger around the office’. Once the first person is laid off, the rest are expected to come within a few hours of eachother. To assist with the big layoffs, security will be present to help escort any upset staff. Mind you, in this bad economy, many will not want to go easy considering the struggling job market.
• Many will look to Yang as the one to blame for the layoffs. He is the one who originally initiated the layoffs and is still holding the head seat on the day of the firings. He say’s to CNET “I look at these cuts as both a short-term and long-term effort. In the short term, we have consolidation and organizational corrections to make. In the long term, we will look at our whole portfolio and are now asking ourselves in each case if we need to be in this business. We’re asking ourselves–should we sell it or should we shut it down? That is the kind of comprehensive look we are doing across the company.”
• Speculation is that this will be the week that a successor to Yang will take over as CEO. It would have been bad practice to name the new director to do the firings. One of the current executives John Chapple, Maggie Wilderotter or Frank Biondi Jr. are expected to take over temporarily within days after the firings to represent a feeling of ‘change’ around the office and inspire new hope for the future while they continue to search for a good fit.
• Although this will initially look bad for Yahoo on the day of the firings, it represents a new day for Yahoo. The stock will remain stable through the firings and will continue to look for a big day as they near making the final decision on a new CEO. The day Yang is succeeded will be a big day for shareholders. There is still rumors that ex-AOL CEO Jonathan Miller is planning something with Yahoo.

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