Yahoo shuts China operations

Washington, March 19:

Internet giant Yahoo Inc. is withdrawing its remaining operations in China, laying off over 200 employees and shutting down its Beijing research centre, a media report said.

The company said it informed employees of the job cuts on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Beijing office, Yahoo’s only physical presence in mainland China, was mostly made up of engineers and functioned as a research and development centre.

“We will be consolidating certain functions into fewer offices, including to our headquarters in Sunnyvale, California,” Yahoo said.

The layoffs are the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures by chief executive Marissa Mayer.

Including the latest round, Yahoo has laid off nearly 900 employees since October 2014, mostly in offices outside the US.

The layoffs in China represent about two percent of Yahoo’s global staff of 12,500.