San Francisco - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) will lay off "hundreds" from its staff of 14,000 employees as part of a plan to increase profitability and narrow its scope of offerings, The New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people close to the company. News of the impending layoffs was first reported by Silicon Alley Insider.

The company is reportedly still pondering which areas of its business will be affected, and layoffs are likely to be announced at the end of the month -- perhaps when the company reports its fourth quarter results on Jan. 29.

The company would not comment directly on the plans for The Times.

"Yahoo plans to invest in some areas, reduce emphasis in others, and eliminate some areas of the business that don't support the company's priorities," company spokeswoman Diana Wong told The Times.

"Yahoo continues to attract and hire talent against the company's key initiatives to create long-term stockholder value."

Related Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/technology/22yahoo.html

http://snipurl.com/1y0jz (Silicon Alley Insider)