Yahoo Announces 20% Layoff of Workforce, Shifts Focus to Taboola Partnership
By Yahoo Inc. announced Thursday that it plans to lay off more than 20% of its total workforce as part of a major restructuring of its advertising technology unit.[0] The cuts are expected to impact more than 1,600 people, or 50% of Yahoo's ad tech employees.[1]
Axios reported that the layoff process started Thursday morning, with the potential of more than 1,000 positions being cut by the end of the day.[2] Approximately 600 employees, representing 8% of the workforce, will be dismissed within the next six months.[2]
CNN was informed by a Yahoo representative that the organization's old ad tech unit, Yahoo for Business, is going to be revamped and restructured into a new division known as Yahoo Advertising.[3] Yahoo has announced that they will be cutting nearly 50% of the division this year, with approximately 1,000 employees being let go this week, according to a spokesperson.[3]
In an interview with Axios, Jim Lanzone, the CEO of Yahoo, said that these alterations would be “hugely advantageous for the money-making of Yahoo as a whole,” and would enable the organization “to be proactive” and pour more resources into other productive areas of its activity.[4]
The main emphasis will be on DSP (Demand-Side Platform), the company's flagship advertising service. This allows advertisers to purchase ads automatically from many different publisher websites.[2] It will be renamed Yahoo Advertising and the company is opting to shut down the SSP business instead of selling it, in part because it didn't want to be locked into a post-sale agreement where it would be forced to use its SSP exclusively.
Lanzone said he can't provide the exact number of future cuts but confirmed that the total number of lay-offs would be over 50% of the ad tech unit's current staff, representing more than 20% of Yahoo's existing staff.[5] He plans to hire more roles, and possibly make more acquisitions, to grow Yahoo's DSP business in coming months.[6]
Layoffs in the technology industry have been a common occurrence in recent months, with both large and small companies announcing job cuts.[7] Yahoo is not getting out of the ad-tech business altogether, but the moves are meant to simplify and strengthen the good parts of the business, while sunsetting the rest.[8]
Yahoo said the company would shift efforts to its 30-year partnership with Taboola, a digital advertising company, to satisfy ad services.[9]
0. “Yahoo to lay off more than 20% of staff” InfotechLead.com, 9 Feb. 2023, https://infotechlead.com/digital/yahoo-to-lay-off-more-than-20-of-staff-76805
1. “Yahoo lays off more than 20% of staff: report” know news, 9 Feb. 2023, https://knownews.in/latest-news/yahoo-lays-off-more-than-20-of-staff-report
2. “Yahoo plans to eliminate over 20% of staff, cut advertising unit in half: report” New York Daily News, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-yahoo-lay-offs-20230209-qrqmbpapzrac7ecnrwvktswiy4-story.html
3. “Yahoo to lay off 20% of its workforce” WISH TV Indianapolis, IN, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.wishtv.com/news/business/yahoo-to-lay-off-20-of-its-workforce/
4. “Yahoo to lay off 20% of its workforce” CNN, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/tech/yahoo-layoffs/index.html
5. “Yahoo to cut over 20% of total workforce – Axios By Investing.com” Investing.com, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/yahoo-to-cut-over-20-of-total-workforce–axios-432SI-2999809
6. “Exclusive: Yahoo to lay off more than 20% of staff as it shrinks ad biz” Axios, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.axios.com/2023/02/09/yahoo-layoffs-2023-tech-media-companies
7. “Yahoo To Layoff More Than 20% Of Staff: Report” Greatandhra, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.greatandhra.com/articles/special-articles/yahoo-to-layoff-more-than-20-of-staff-report-127179
8. “Yahoo plans to lay off 20% of workforce: reports” KRON4, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/yahoo-plans-to-lay-off-20-of-workforce-reports/
9. “Yahoo to lay off 20% of staff by year-end, beginning this week” CNBC, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/09/yahoo-will-lay-off-nearly-1000-employees-by-end-of-2023.html
