Sunnyvale, California-based Web pioneer Yahoo began laying off 1,500 employees from its workforce of about 15,000  Wednesday, a cut announced in October aimed at trimming expenses by $400 million at the company that operates the second most-used search engine. In addition to closing offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Oslo and Amsterdam, further layoffs were seen as likely, according to Yahoo spokesman Brad Williams, as well as office closures in Asia and the United States. Yahoo Cuts 1,500 Employees From Workforce With Further Layoffs Likely Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, who has led the company since June 2007, thanked the 1,500 workers who have lost their jobs in a letter that was also posted to the Yahoo Yodel Anecdotal blog. "As we announced in October, we’ve been aggressively managing  our costs to bring them in line with the challenging economic conditions," Yang wrote in the note. "Unfortunately, that means laying off employees –- by far the toughest part of being a manager," Yang added. Last month Yahoo announced that Yang would step down as chief executive and return to his previous role as chief Yahoo while remaining on the company's board of directors. The layoffs begun Wednesday were part of Yahoo's pledge to cut at least 10 percent of its workforce. Yang will step down as chief executive once Yahoo and a team of board members headed by company chairman Roy Bostock appoint his successor. Yahoo said that both external and internal candidates would be considered in the search for Yang's successor. Yang has faced criticism from a seemingly countless number of critics on numerous fronts since taking over the chief executive role previously held by Terry Semel last summer. Yahoo Cost Alignment Measure In Current Economic Downturn On Wednesday Yahoo said the layoffs were part of a plan to help align costs. "Better aligning costs with revenues now and in the  future is an essential part of Yahoo's strategy to perform competitively given the current economic downturn and to position us for growth when the economy strengthens," Yahoo said. When Semel stepped down as chief executive, Yahoo's board of directors asked Yang to step in and fill the position, and during the intervening tumultuous 19 months Yang has been at the helm while rival Microsoft attempted to acquire Yahoo. "Over the past year and a half, despite extraordinary challenges and distractions, Jerry Yang has led the repositioning of Yahoo on an open platform model as well as the improved alignment of costs and revenues," Bostock said. As part of that alignment, the Wednesday layoffs of 1,500 workers came amidst what Yang called "a tough time for all of us" in his letter to the workers who had seen their jobs cut. Related Links :
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