Yahoo cuts content after spending big bucks on it
After spending scads of money to bring in brand-name media personalities and other well-known journalists, Yahoo (YHOO) is scaling back on its editorial might, shuttering seven, or half, of its digital publications.
One element of CEO Marissa Mayer's strategy since joining Yahoo as CEO in 2012 was to expand its editorial staff. Among the high-profile hires were Katie Couric and former New York Times technology writer David Pogue.
During her tenure, the company also has spent billions of dollars on acquisitions. But neither the addition of high-price talent nor Yahoo's M&A strategy has delivered the kind of growth that investors demand.
In an online posting Wednesday, Martha Nelson, the pioneer portal's global editor-in-chief, said Yahoo would begin phasing out online magazines including: Yahoo Food, Yahoo Health, Yahoo Parenting, Yahoo Makers, Yahoo Travel, Yahoo Autos and Yahoo Real Estate.
The moves come as Yahoo focuses its efforts on its four more successful content areas: news, sports, finance and lifestyle, Nelson said.
"As we make these changes, we acknowledge the talent and dedication of an extraordinary group of journalists who brought new and newsworthy content to Yahoo," Nelson wrote.
"We are not sharing specific numbers, however we did announce on our earnings call we will be reducing our workforce by 15 percent overall," Yahoo spokeswoman Carolyn Clark emailed.
Earlier this month, Mayer laid out her plan to reduce costs and increase growth, including a 15 percent cut in the workforce.
The Internet company also reported a 15 percent decline in adjusted quarterly revenue amid lost ground in online search and display advertising. Internet users these days are more inclined to click to Facebook (FB) and Alphabet's Google (GOOG).
Yahoo Tech editor-in-chief Dan Tynan, who joined that unit as a columnist in December 2013 and was named to his latest position in July 2015, was reportedly among those getting a pink slip.
Politico cited a source familiar with the matter in reporting that Yahoo was ending its tech vertical and transferring some of its staff -- including the newly arrived Pogue -- to Yahoo's news vertical.