Tip: Yahoo May Cut 1,500-2,500 Jobs Within 2 Weeks*

A tipster believes Yahoo has created a list of 1,500-2,500 jobs that may be eliminated in the next two weeks. CEO Jerry Yang will reportedly make the decision to go forward with these layoffs--or not--next week. Jerry reportedly wants to announce the cuts with or before earnings (January 29th), but may not make them if the stock price recovers.

We believe Yahoo should reduce headcount by at least a thousand people, and others are looking for cuts of more than twice that. Yahoo's stock has recently hit new lows, almost all of its key businesses are losing ground to Google, and shareholders are beyond frustrated. Jerry Yang, moreover, is perceived as a good guy who is unwilling to make the hard-ass decisions necessary to get Yahoo heading in the right direction again--a perception he is presumably eager to dispense with. Lastly, a recession is on the way.

All of these factors make a cut of this magnitude quite plausible. We believe the stock market would react favorably to it.

*UPDATE: New details on the layoffs and Jerry's other turnaround initiatives.

See Also:
Fat Yahoo Finally Cutting Bloat...Slowly
Yahoo Layoffs: Drumbeat Grows Louder
Yahoo Turnaround Step 2: Layoffs