Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang sent the email below to all Yahoo’ers at 2:20 pm PST, after earnings were announced. Besides being all lowercase, as usual, he lets everyone know that the company will be letting 10% of employees go to help save $400 million in annual costs. Jerry Yang, of course, will not be among the layoffs.
The full email:
From: Jerry Yang [mailto:jerry@yahoo-inc.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 2:20 PM
To: all-worldwide@yahoo-inc.com
Subject: update
yahoos,
i feel it’s important for me to reach out to you after our earnings announcement, and before our all hands meeting tomorrow.
we as a company have been through a tremendously challenging year; and managing the increasingly turbulent global advertising climate has been an important focus for the last three months.
throughout the first three quarters of 2008, we have been balancing between investing in our top priorities, and managing our cost structure. beginning in september, with the help of Bain & Co., we initiated a series of steps to determine how we can become more efficient and productive as an organization.
we heard from you through the YEES survey, and through your suggestions on backyard, and we’ve identified many areas that we all feel we can improve upon. our productivity efforts, based in part on what we heard from you, will involve initiatives such as streamlining our organizational structure through reducing layers and increasing spans of control, and eliminating redundancies. longer term structural efficiencies include consolidating facilities, improving procurement, and standardizing our global technology platforms.
today as part of our q3 earnings release, we said that our goal is to reduce our current annualized cost run rate of roughly $3.9 billion by more than $400 million before the end of 2008. we are targeting non-headcount expenses wherever possible, such as facilities and outside services. however, because compensation expenses are the single largest part of our costs, we anticipate a reduction of at least 10% of our global workforce by year-end.
affected employees will be notified of layoffs in the next several weeks. we understand that hearing this news now creates uncertainty, but we are moving ahead in a way that balances speed with a clear focus on accomplishing what is necessary to set the organization up for long term success. going forward it will continue to be important for us to make the right decisions to keep our business efficient and strong.
having layoffs is very difficult, particularly in light of all we’ve experienced this year. but we don’t take these decisions lightly, and are committed to treating affected employees fairly, offering severance and outplacement services.
the steps we are taking are not easy for us as a company, but as we become more fit as an organization, decision-making will be faster and it will be easier for us all to get more done and stay focused on our strategy. these changes will also prepare us to better deal with the macroeconomic downturn. as with previous downturns, yahoo! continues to be a place where consumers turn for information and communications, and is an integral part of their internet day. as the global economy improves in the future, i certainly believe that we will be stronger and benefit from the actions we are taking now.
as always, i thank you for all you do as yahoos.
best,
jerry
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Sad. Good luck to those who are laid off.
Is Jerry in that 10%?
That would be less sad
Ya think the laid off will get the juicy severance Jerry, Sue & other execs passionately defended when fighting Microsoft?
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/ed.....28e8vk.htm
I’m hearing folks will get the minimum required by law instead.
Dont worry buddies, dont be panic..just wait & hope…tommorrow is ours….!!!
Victim,
Mohan Ramamoorthy
*Sniff*
agreed.
It’s over, Jerry. Just step down already.
I know it is crazy. Its like watching Al Davis run the Raiders into the ground. By the way who is there left to fire? I thought everyone quit already.
Jerry, buddy, first mistake is listening to Bain about ANYTHING. Clearly, they don’t know jack about organizational behaviour. Please tell me why anyone good in your org would stick around to see if they get the axe. Let me let you in on a little secret:
Step 1. Decide how much cash you need to save.
Step 2. identify those in the org that are to leave
Step 3. Let those people know en masse
Step 4. Then tell the rest of the organization.
See, i saved you all the consulting coin. You know an org is in real trouble when you have consultants like Bain running the roost. Lord help us all.
As a consulting friend of mine once said, “All you do as a consultant is tell your client what they already know.” Yahoo gets to outsource the assholiness of laying off to Bain and Jerry, excuse me, jerry and co. doesn’t have to take any personal responsibility. It’s a win-win for everyone. And by, ‘everyone’ I, of course, mean Bain, since they got a nice fee for all this.
Showing your client what they already know can be quite valuable. As you walk in the same fog every day, you can quickly become blind to issues even if you are aware of their existance. I am not saying that all consultants are valuable, but it is important to get an eye-opener every once in a while.
Wow, honey! Look I found an arm chair CEO of multimillion company!!!
And this guys is doing a better job from the armchair than any of the goofs in Sunnyvale
thought it was interesting how he used all lower-case
good eye. anything to dull sword. i do the same thing.
ChopperLocator.com
He always uses lowercase. In fact, for some reason, many early yahoos only use lowercase. I never understood why. I always felt it was a little rude. “Hey I’m too busy to use the shift key.” Geoff Ralston’s emails were also all lowercase back in the day.
doh! I meant Jeff Mallett. Not Ralston. meh.
I agree. In fact I think it’s rather insulting and look stupid, too.
Emails of this magnitude in importance should be written formally as far as my opinion is concerned.
why do people care? its a tech company. the message gets accross no?
I care because it shows a level of effort and respect that Yahoo’s CEO clearly doesn’t have. Yang puts about as much effort into running his company as the e-mail he wrote to notify 10% of his staff they can’t feed their families anymore.
If anyone should be canned, it’s Yang himself. I’m assuming his salary is equal to quite a few of the 10% they’re going to lay off.
I suppose because it’s meme, and kewl, and tech, and…
It looks awful coming from the CEO of a company in any sector.
Just remember - it was the consultants who decided you are getting laid off… Jerry - you are the CEO. It was your decision. It was required because of your decisions. Don’t blame (or even mention) the consultants.
can we kick icahn’s ass for losing a job? how much did Carl Icahn cost yahoo! with his B.S.? hmm.. was it close to $400 million?
Are you serious? If Carl got his way Yahoo’s would have 31$/share in the bank and a phatty severance IF they were to get laid off.
Now, thanks to Jerry, a bunch are getting laid off (a mystery as to who or when) w/o the cushy severance.
Carl knew when the value of the firm peaked. He recommended Yahoo to take the money and run. Jerry, Sue, and the rest of the jokers bet the house and employees will pay the price.
loserrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Wait, I thought people were leaving in droves earlier this year-why not just let natural attrition take 10% off their headcount? I guess they don’t want to wait for that to happen.
Jerry Yang is a douche.
no he isn’t
yes he is
His stock price says he is.
Jerry = Summer’s Eve
seb- you’re funny. is this seb from burbank?
Yahoo is a human right violator’s company and karma has finally caught up to this unethical company.
I’m glad they are laying off employees at yahoo and hope it will continue to do so until the company becomes solvent. Die yahoo!
that is harsh…
but true, unfortunately
if you wanna talk about karma take those leather shoes off, your clothes made by small kids in poorer countries, stop ignoring your mom and wife and actually smile at the cashier. jesus you’re a disgruntled man… wishing for thousands to get laid off? maybe you need to get laid first.
Wow, you have issues. You should take a look in the mirror. Self righteous, preaching, mr know it all, hypocrite,
poor yahoo employees - the ones that didn’t leave in the spring hoping that yahoo would be able to turn it around. o and the ones that recently joined yahoo thinking that they would be able to turn it around - great decision! now it’s as if they are just second-tier talent. they’re going to have a tough time finding a job in this market too….
Good luck!
Peter
http://www.thewebwar.com
that does suck but they were hoping for the best and didnt want to throw in the towel…
Jerry has failed numerous times in his attempts to become a true Jedi master. He should go Obi-Wan style and let himself get struck down. Maybe he’ll do better directing Yahoo as a ghost.
I agree with Jonathan above. Going to Bain & Co is a bad idea. I have had some experience working with them and it usually does not turn out to be a good thing. The productive people get upset and leave and you are left with the best a**kissers. Good people always can find a job.
I think you should be able to identify the very good talent in the organization and get rid of the fat. I have worked with people in Engineering, etc. and trust me there is a lot of fat there. Some really good managers and some that are completely clueless.
Focus on your core businesses and stop reworking things that do not need it. Communicate with your userbase. Listen to what they have to say.
I bet that MS takeover offer looks really really good right now. I am glad I am no longer a shareholder.
Its not Bain, its Bane and Co. The Bane of your existence.
Michael A, question: why doesn’t Apple buy Yahoo? Much better than MS on so many dimensions. I realize that Yahoo is more media company than tech organization but just think of what apple could do with all of those incredible assets….thoughts?
Apple should stick to what they know best…great user experience, hardware and software that plays nice together and design that people crave.
Microsoft’s problem is that they try to do everything. Software, advertising, mobile, gaming, os, search, enterprise, consumer, etc. MS does it out of pure greed and a lust for domination. Oh, sorry…I got a little off track. We’re talking about Yahoo aren’t we? Yahoo needs to narrow their focus as well. Enhance, innovate and monetize core products…search, mail, messenging, yahoo finance, flickr–to name a few EXISTING products. Yahoo has been creating a whirlwind of new products but has not been providing enough resources, thought or long-term strategy behind any of them. It’s like they’ve been taken over with a “throw it to the wall and see if it sticks get rich mentality.” While Google continues to improve and innovate existing products.
Can someone write about jonathan schwartz?
I love the Jerry Yang photo…good choice!
This guy hasnt been fired yet? Really?
yahoo and sun should merge.
a jonathan schwartz + jerry yang management team would rock the world.
Sun + Yahoo … a match made in heaven!
Two negatives squared equals positive.
A CEO writing with no caps?
He should have signed off with
- l8tr, Jerry
It must be bad if they can’t afford Capitalization. Sorry, bad pun.
And with one final stroke of the keyboard, Jerry yammers, “I don’t need this Shift! Down with Capitalism!”
Haha! I think the lower caps adds to his letter making him that much more boring and insincere.
make that
- l8r, Jerry
this made me laugh out loud
nice punctuation jerry maybe if you strive for excellence in everything you do including company wide emails your company wouldn’t be shite for the past 4 years [punctuational intentionally omitted btq]
So can every Yang critic who’s created a company with a superior market cap put your hands up. Oh yeah I forgot, none of you have come close….
BS argument. You don’t need to have done something to be able to criticize it, and I’m quite willing to bet that you’ve been just as guilty of it at some point. Like sports and ever thought a coach picked a bad call? Have you been head coach of an NFL team? Or an umpire in MLB? Ever think a movie sucked? Well, have you directed a blockbuster?
Please list all of the reasons why he is bad CEO with a detailed breakdown of each. Thanks.
‘Please list all of the reasons why he is bad CEO with a detailed breakdown of each. Thanks.’
Microsoft. Enuff said.
Jacob - you need to smoke weed or do yoga - you’re so agro bro
Well said James Seamon - I can tell all of you d-bags are the best and brightest. If you have a clue, you would know that Yahoo has an incredible audience (515 Million users) and produces a shit load of cash, has no debt and over $3 Billion in cash and equitable debt securities. How many companies can claim that?
Wow, what a way to destroy morale (if there was any of it left). Now 100% is worried about losing their jobs until they announce the actual people. And to be told in an email without capitalization… wow.
Well, at least Yang isn’t like CEOs of other major non-tech companies. His salary is only $1/year, his net worth drops everyday the stock value drops since he owns like 4% of Yahoo right?
I feel bad for those that will get laid off, but at least they know that the CEO isn’t sitting there making a million dollar salary in the mean time. It’s not like United Airlines that claims a $778 million loss in Q3 while the CEO is still pulling a multi million dollar salary.
Ask Warren Buffet about what he thinks of CEOs opting to have a salary of $1 a year.
Had I known he wrote in all lower caps, I never would have invested ages ago. Seriously folks, all lower case AND running a company?
Given their three year cliff, I feel bad for the ones getting the boot after 2 1/2 years.
does it matter what the cliff is ? by the end of 3 years stock wont be worth waiting for cash out
It’s probably better than nothing.
Please, Jerry. Step down and save whatever dignity you have left. Please!!
I bet all those employees bitching about the Microsoft takover are regretting doing so now. That whole organization is duganish from top to bottom. They tried to make us use Yahoo in middle school when the Internet first started. I could tell from that first day the way they indexed their results it was a duganish company.
What’s duganish? (Sorry but I’m a euro trash facists german krautmuncher).
I sympathize with Jerry. What’s up with all the sentiments towards him?
Clearly you are not a stock holder.
Or an employee.
“hey guys, we’re cutting a couple thousand jobs. wIll keep you posted.”
-jerry
dear yahoos,
in an effort to increase productivity and cut costs by $300, we’ve removed and sold all caps-lock and shift keys from your keyboards.
thanks,
jerry
It would actuall be funn if someone stole all the “Y” kes.
And no-one would notice if they stole all the “$” keys.
Yahoo does nothing good for the economy. If it dies, no one care.
I know I wouldn’t.
Die Yahoo.
Agreed
agree, as long as google in lead…
@ jacob - why so angry? sounds like you need a vacation…
Jacob is bitter. I bet he really wanted to work at Yahoo back the day!
Why all the hostility towards Yahoo. Were you laid off Jacob?
i think it’s time for jerry to get out of the way. take the capital you have, sit back and look for the next opportunity. it may be a little while…but it will emerge. look at marc andreseen for example.
i like his honesty. it may not be the best news, but someone has to tell it. should it have been said in a different sequence? possibly. the difference it makes in the end? none.
The yahoo story of the past year is a travesty and shocking indictment of the USA’s corporate law system. You can get a 10 year jail term for robbing a bank out of $1m, but when you rob your shareholders out of 10bn+ you get off scot free.
What about those who steal other country’s oil?
lol… is this tech blog, not politics
Leave Canada out of it bitch
While truth is bitter, its a bummer to see the “loyalty” of Yahoos! allowing a verbatim email from the CEO, meant for internal communication to be posted within minutes for public consumption and waste of time. Sick. Sad.
you said it! with loyal worker bee’s like this, it’s no wonder yahoo! is up the shit.
I just love watching this Internet giant die slowly. Words cannot express the pleasure I get from it! : )
lame
why is sue decker still in this company?
No joke, she is useless. Bitch is eyeing the CEO spot w/her gal pals permeating throughout the org. If she gets top job look out below.
ps. What an insult to your employees to write in lower case.
get over it. you can still understand what is typed without punctuation. whats the point? the full stop is enough to show that the sentence has ended.. clearly a new sentence will start directly after it, i so dont see the need for the capital letter. also stop bagging out yahoo. yahoo rocks.
Karma is coming to kill this company. Die Yahoo.
wont karma come and get you for saying such a comment? and yes i refuse to use caps either.
karma, as they say “karma’s a bitch”, then again so is the douche bag that posted “die yahoo”
if Yahoo dies in the true since, then millions of people will loose their stock values, and thousands will loose jobs… so no Yahoo live long and strong!
Well at least they won’t lose their jobs and stock.
Yang would gain a lot of points with me if he stood up and said he eff’d up by not taking the MS buyout. No real way to save face now. Also, with all this metric and survey talk it’s sad when a company goes from a garage to a ginormous corporation. It loses it’s true sole and becomes just another corporation.
I’m sorry, but an email of this nature written all in lowercase is so disrespectful.
not really. its fine.
Why did they buy broadcast.com?
Mr. Arrignton,
Don’t you think it would have been wise if you had redacted the yahoo corporate email addresses? Thanks for fueling the spam bonfire.
REVENGE.. time
all-worldwide@yahoo-inc.com… HERE I COME WITH my p0rn and v1agra!!!!!!!!
The all-worldwide@ list does not accept external email, silly.
“At least 10%” is codename for 20%.
What kind of moron writes in all lower-case? Is Jerry too clever for case or just too lazy? What a pompous little ass. It probably doesn’t matter since he can hardly write an English sentence anyway, but if I got that email without knowing who is was from I’d assume it was sent by a twelve-year old.
every time there is a message from jerry it always comes in lowercase. first time i thought it was the way the messages was transmitted from one format to another. comes over as so infantile. i think he should go - and go quick. it’s disgusting that he’s sanctioning a drastic reduction in workforce after failing with strategy to date. he should be the first to go.
i hate lowercase. just writing this makes me feel ill!
Jerry, you idiot, you don’t notify your whole company that 10% of them are being fired. Then everyone has a productivity seizure and stops working completely. What a shmuck. Clearly all I have to do is wait out another quarter and I’ll acquire what’s left of your company for $3/share…oops, I mean Microsoft will acquire you!
Read his e-mail, everyone who is getting laid off will get a follow up. If you were getting laid off (I doub’t you even hold a job to call him an idiot) you would probably would like a notice like that.
If I were getting laid, I’d like a follow up…if I’m getting laid off, I’d like a personal meeting. Morale is won (and lost) in the hallways, and an e-mail like this is the ultimate company buzz kill. Way to go, Jerry! What? Do you think CEO stands for “Can Eat Oysters”?
Every “yahoo” is walking on eggshells right now, thanks to JY’s e-mail. Note to Jerry: the layoff e-mail is supposed to come AFTER the fact. Sheesh!
Anyone else think that Messrs. Ballmer & Gates are breaking out the Johnnie Walker Blue right about now?
Watching Yahoo! is like watching Bambi die in slow motion. What a shame.
I think Yahoo employees have heard from other sources anyway that a substantial part of the workforce will be laid off. I think it is better to hear it straight from the CEO before actual mass layoffs happen.
I agree, he should not have announced a 10% layoffs to 100%. Now the 90% is also wondering if they are 10%.
What a loser..jerry.
“Then everyone has a productivity seizure and stops working completely.”
Really? At this time I don’t believe Yahoo determined who’s in and who’s out, so if I were employees I’d work desperately to get into the in’s.
Should have just done a lolcatz….