Layoffs 2023: Yahoo To Lay Off More Than 20% Of Its Workforce

Yahoo is the newest entrant to the list of companies that have announced layoffs this year. On Thursday, February 9, 2023, Yahoo notified its employees that it plans to lay off more than 20% of the company’s workforce as part of a major restructuring of its ad tech division.

The first round of layoffs will be carried out this week, which will impact around 12% of its workforce, which amounts to nearly 1,000 employees. Yahoo also added that within the next 6 months, another 8%, or 600 employees, will lose their jobs. These layoffs will impact almost 50% of Yahoo's ad tech business, according to a report by Reuters.

Yahoo’s move to cut its workforce comes as many major U.S- based companies, including Google and Microsoft, have announced layoffs this year citing rising inflation rates and the continued uncertainty of recession as reasons.

Take a look at the list of companies that have announced layoffs in February 2023 so far.

Yahoo, which was taken over by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2021 after a $5 Billion buyout, stated that these layoffs in the ad tech division would enable Yahoo to narrow its investments and focus on its flagship business called DSP, or demand-side platform.

Axios, which first reported the news about the layoffs at Yahoo, stated that these ad tech layoffs will change Yahoo’s efforts to directly compete with Meta and Google for dominating digital advertising. In the report, Yahoo’s CEO Jim Lanzone said that these ad tech layoffs are due to financial challenges, but rather strategic changes. Lanzone also added that these job cuts will be "tremendously beneficial for the profitability of Yahoo overall” and will allow Yahoo to invest more in parts of the business that are profitable.