Yahoo is reportedly poised to cut at least 10 percent of its workforce, representing more than 1,000 employees, as part of its ongoing effort to alleviate shareholder's fears over the fate of the hemorrhaging tech giant.
The cuts would be company-wide, but the majority of the cuts would occur in Yahoo's media business, European operations and platform technology group and would take place as early as this month, sources familiar with the situation said, according to Business Insider.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., company declined to comment on the matter.
"We are not confirming this rumor or commenting further," Sarah Meron, a spokeswoman for Yahoo, told Reuters in an e-mail.
Reports of the potential layoffs come after activist investor Starboard Value LP issued a letter to Yahoo on Wednesday calling for a shake-up in Yahoo management.
"Dramatically different thinking is required, together with significant changes across all aspects of the business starting at the board level, and including executive leadership," Starboard said in the email, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Starboard has been pushing for changes at Yahoo since 2014, urging the company to separate its Asian assets, most notably Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and begin a taxable sale of its core business, including Yahoo Mail, as well as its news and sports sites.
Yahoo has been resistant to its demands, instead pursuing a tax-free spinoff of the core business, which Starboard and other investors say would take too long, opening the company up to a proxy contest.
In the meantime, Yahoo has appointed management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to help with the reorganization of its core businesses and intends to restructure and consolidate its media unit, vowing to narrow its strategy and focus on newer products. Yahoo recently shut down Yahoo Screen after failing to provide targeted revenue.
