Yahoo! Inc. announced that it intends to shut down its office located in Amman, Jordan, as the company is seeking to reduce the size of its international operations. A person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified, because the information is still private, revealed that almost 80 job positions will be cut due to the plans of the closure. The eventual lay-offs represent less than 1% of the global workforce of Yahoo.
Yahoo said in the statement, cited by the Wall Street Journal: “Today we informed our employees based in Amman, Jordan that we’ve made a difficult decision to close the office by end of the year.”
According to Yahoos official e-mailed statement, the company intends to offer some employee relocations. The U.S.-based Web portal also noted that support will still be provided to its websites in the Middle East from Dubai and other offices located in the region.
As reported by Bloomberg, the company also stated: “This decision is part of Yahoo’s global efforts to streamline operations that will help us execute more quickly and efficiently. The Middle East and North Africa will continue to be an important market for Yahoo and we remain committed to our users and advertisers in the region.”
The decision of the U.S.-based Web portal to pull back from the Middle East comes only five years after it entered the region. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ms. Marissa Mayer, has been trying to reduce Yahoos expenses at a time, when the companys investors are placing her under pressure to boost growth.
By shutting down some of its overseas operations, the company hopes to remain flexible and efficient. Still, it intends to keep the regions of North Africa and the Middle East as an important part of its market strategy.
Yahoo! Inc. was 1.07% down to close at $37.97 per share yesterday, marking a one-year increase of 11.68%. The company is valued at $38.17 billion. According to CNN Money, the 24 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Yahoo! Inc. have a median target of $42.00, with a high estimate of $49.00 and a low estimate of $32.00. The median estimate represents a +10.61% increase from the last price of $37.97.
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