Earlier this week, rumors circulated about potential Yahoo layoffs. Eventually, the rumors were confirmed in a leaked internal email memo from CEO Carol Bartz to staff. Here is an excerpt from the letter, posted in full at All Things D:
Yahoos,
I want to share some tough news with you. Today, we began notifying some Yahoos that they will lose their jobs. Most of the reductions will come from the Products org and, when completed, will affect about 4% of the company.
I know this has been rumored for some time. It’s disappointing when things like this leak, and it certainly doesn’t make it any easier for anyone involved. This was a tough call, but a necessary one. We need to make these changes now to ensure that Products is structured and running the way we want as 2011 begins. And that means we need fewer Yahoos in some areas, and different types of Yahoos in others.
Soon after the layoffs, an internal presentation slide was leaked which showed a list of Yahoo services that they planned to “sunset.” Some of the services that we won’t see anymore: MyBlogLog, Yahoo! Picks, AltaVista, Yahoo! Bookmarks, Yahoo! Buzz, and (GASP!) Delicious. There are also some products that will be merged, including: Upcoming, FoxyTunes, Sideline, FireEagle, Yahoo Events, and Yahoo People Search.
Yahoo has been going through troubled times and it looks like they are trying to drop some dead weight. Not a good look for those who will be unemployed. A sad day for many avid Delicious users. For those old-school geeks who remember using Altavista, you know it was time.
via All Things D