Yahoo announces first round of layoffs as it trims 15 pct of workforce

By Deborah M. Todd

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc announced Wednesday it will lay off 107 employees in the first of what is expected to be more than 1,500 job cuts.

The layoffs take effect April 11 and affected employees received 60-day advance notice of the move, Yahoo said in a notice filed with the California Employment Development Department. The layoffs were spread across a range of departments and job titles.

Yahoo shares closed up 1 percent at $27.10 on Wednesday and are down about 18.5 percent so far this year.

Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer said during the company's fourth quarter earnings call this month it will cut roughly 15 percent of its workforce as part of a strategy to revamp its core Internet business.

Yahoo had about 11,000 employees as of June 30, according to its website, down from a Dec. 31, 2014, total of about 12,500 full-time employees and what it called fixed-term contractors.

(Editing by Stephen R. Trousdale and Lisa Shumaker)