Yahoo Cuts 14 Percent of its Workforce

Rumours of layoffs at former internet giant Yahoo have been circulating for some time and the company has just made it official.

"Today's actions are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo! - smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require. We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities. Our goal is to get back to our core purpose - putting our users and advertisers first - and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal," said Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo.

Thompson, who was brought on-board as CEO in January is a former head of eBay and it is he who has pushed forthis major restructing effort, which sees 14 percent of all Yahoo staff being let go.

"Unfortunately, reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate positions. We deeply value our people and all they've contributed to Yahoo!" Thompson added.

In a terse statement, Yahoo said: "Today, the company will begin the process of informing employees about these changes. As part of that effort, approximately 2,000 people will be notified of job elimination or phased transition."

Yahoo said it hopes the layoffs would bring about approximately $375m (£236m) of savings annually "upon completion of all employee transitions."

Looking forward, Yahoo said: "Through its restructuring efforts, Yahoo! intends to grow by responding more quickly to customer needs and competing more effectively in areas where it can win. Yahoo! has identified key parts of the business - a select group of core businesses, the platforms that support those core businesses, and the data that drives deep personalization for users and ROI for advertisers - where the company will intensify efforts and redeploy resources globally, all focused on increasing shareholder value."