Yahoo Inc said on Tuesday it would consider "strategic alternatives" for its key online unit and will cut about 15 % of the workforce despite the keeping of reorganization plan and the allocation of its divisions into a separate company.
This announcement was the strongest signal showing that CEO Marissa Mayer may want to sell the internet business which is faced with difficulties and which is represented mainly by websites, email and online search, due to the growing pressure of impatient shareholders.
After this message, Yahoo shares fell 1.2 % on the OTC trading. Over the past 12 months they have already lost 36 %.
"We believe that the strategic plan is not fully affecting the key issues hitting the share value: poor allocation of capital, erroneous strategic partnership, uncontrolled spending and overgrown labor force", - said a shareholder who calls for change in the company.
Revenue of Yahoo reached a peak in 2008 and has been declining since then. The company is not able to deal with incoming now Alphabet Inc Google and Facebook Inc (O: FB) in the pursuit of online advertisers, even in spite of the fact that the company still runs close the most widely read websites in the world.
Yahoo said on Tuesday it would close the offices in five cities, reduce the number of its products, redirect more resources on mobile search and sell some non-strategic assets, such as property and patents.
It will be focused on three platforms: Search, Mail, and Tumblr, and four "digital content support" in the form of headings "News", "Sports", "Finance" and "Lifestyle".
The changes are aimed at increasing revenue from mobile, native, video and advertising in social networks to $ 1.8 billion this year from $ 1.66 billion in 2015, a reduction in operating expenses by $ 400 million by the end of the year and the possibility of more than $ 1 billion from the sale of assets. "We believe that these changes will improve our course and create a positive trajectory of our profits", - said the CEO.