By the end of the year, Yahoo will fire 20% of its employees, including 1,000 this week, the company announced on Thursday.
A Yahoo spokesperson stated that a restructuring of the company’s ads business will result in a workforce reduction of nearly 50% by the end of 2023 for the ad tech division, Yahoo for Business.
A spokesperson for Yahoo stated in a statement, “These decisions are never easy, but we believe these changes will simplify and strengthen our advertising business for the long run, while enabling Yahoo to deliver better value to our customers and partners.”
According to the spokesperson, the company’s current advertising business strategy has not been profitable. According to a spokesperson, a new division known as Yahoo Advertising will focus on its demand-side platform as part of a revamped strategy. Its ad sales teams will prioritize Yahoo-owned and operated properties such as Yahoo Finance, Yahoo News, and Yahoo Sports.
According to the spokesperson, the company will also end its supply-side platform and completely shift its native advertising efforts to its 30-year partnership with Taboola, which was announced in November.
The reductions come amid a series of job cuts in the media and technology sectors.
Dotdash Meredith, Vox Media, and Warner Bros. Discovery are among the businesses that have cut jobs in recent months.
In addition, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated on Wednesday that the company would be cutting 7,000 jobs in an effort to save $5.5 billion in total costs. He added that sports will not be affected by the $3 billion in cuts that will be made to content; while non-content cuts will cost $2.5 billion.
A securities filing made in October stated that the number of jobs eliminated was approximately 3% of the company’s 220,000 employees worldwide.
