Yahoo! India lays off 60; to hire 130

Global search engine player Yahoo!, which recently announced a five per cent lay-off globally, is learnt to have asked around 60 employees from its Bangalore-based R&D centre to quit the company.     

The California-based company is also planning to hire 130 professionals in India in areas like product engineering.A company spokesperson, however, declined to comment.     

Sources said the recent announcement of Yahoo!’s global layoff, will impact less than four per cent of Yahoo! India R&D’s workforce, which at present is 1,500. A significant number of the employees are being laid off on performance grounds, and some of them on account of reorganisation, leading to their becoming functionless.

This move would allow the company to focus on strategic priorities and provide flexibility for targeted hiring in key business areas, they said. Yahoo! would continue to hire in business-critical areas, in India.

The company currently has over 130 openings, sources added. This is the second lay-off Yahoo! India will be undertaking following global announcements.

In December 2008, the company had served notices to three per cent of its India workforce due to the ongoing slowdown.

Last week, the company had said it would lay off nearly 700 workers, or five per cent  of its workforce.The company has been on a cost-cutting drive since Carol Bartz took over as CEO in January.

It has taken steps to focus on fundamentals as it seeks to revive growth in a tough economy and with fierce competition from Google Inc.