Yahoo Plans Massive Layoffs: Report

The damage could be “in the thousands” and could take place by the end of this month, AllThingsD reports. The website says that Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson is targeting the company’s large products organization, as well as “public relations and marketing, research, marginal businesses and weaker regional efforts.” Thompson wants to concentrate on growth businesses, and has hired Boston Consulting Group to help him chart the company’s course. He’s under a lot of pressure to give an adrenaline jolt to the Web content and search company, whose stock is down 14.8% over the last 12 months. Last month, hedge fund Third Point launched a campaign to elect four of its own candidates — including former NBCUniversal chief Jeff Zucker — to the board. “Installing the hand-picked choices of the current board does nothing to allay investor fears that Yahoo is poised to repeat the errors of its past,” the hedge fund said. Yahoo said that Third Point was on a “potentially disruptive path, just as the Company is moving forward under new leadership to aggressively increase the value of Yahoo! for the benefit of all of its shareholders.”