US Internet company Yahoo is shutting down its presence in China, laying off at least 200 people, Bloomberg News reported.
The closure of Yahoo’s Beijing office will eliminate 200 to 300 jobs, Bloomberg said on Wednesday, quoting a person familiar with the matter.
“We are constantly making changes to align resources and to foster better collaboration and innovation across our business,” Yahoo said in a statement quoted by Bloomberg.
“We currently do not offer local product experiences in Beijing but the office has served as a research and development centre,” the statement said.
Yahoo did not immediately respond to requests for comment by AFP.
The move follows Yahoo’s announcement in January that it will spin off its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which last year listed on the New York Stock Exchange in a record offer.
Analysts say cutting the cord with Alibaba leaves Yahoo with a core of assets but no clear path or mission.
In 2005, Yahoo bought a 40-per cent stake in Alibaba for $1 billion. The US company ceded its China operations to Alibaba as a result.
Yahoo shut down its China e-mail service in 2013. It was earlier embroiled in controversy when it handed authorities details of a Chinese journalist who was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.