In a stunning announcement that sent shockwaves through the tech industry, Yahoo revealed plans to lay off more than 20% of its total workforce as part of a major overhaul of its ad tech division. With nearly 50% of ad tech employees set to lose their jobs by the end of the year, including nearly 1,000 this week, the cuts are expected to impact a significant portion of the company’s workforce.
According to reports, Yahoo’s new focus will be on its flagship ad business, known as the demand-side platform (DSP), as it aims to streamline operations and boost growth. The move comes as private equity firm Apollo Global Management acquired 90% of Yahoo from Verizon for $5 billion in September 2021.
Given the new focus of the new Yahoo Advertising group, we will reduce the workforce of the former Yahoo for Business division by nearly 50% by the end of 2023,” a Yahoo spokesperson told CNBC on Thursday. “The Yahoo for Business segment’s strategy struggled to live up to our high standards across the entire stack.”
Yahoo joins the growing list of tech giants announcing significant layoffs in 2023. In January, Alphabet laid off 12,000 workers, or about 12% of its workforce, and in November, Facebook‘s parent company Meta cut 11,000 jobs. As the tech industry continues to evolve and adapt, it remains to be seen what impact these workforce reductions will have on the companies and their employees.