Yahoo to Axe 15 Percent of Workforce

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Marissa Mayer, president and CEO of Yahoo. Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc Chief Executive Marissa Mayer is set to reveal cost-cutting plans that include a reduction of 15 percent of the internet company's workforce and the closure of several business units, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The plans are expected to be announced after Yahoo's fourth-quarter results, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Yahoo had about 11,000 employees as of June 30, according to its website.

The company, which is scheduled to report on Tuesday, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Activist investor Starboard Value LP in a letter to Yahoo last month ramped up pressure on the company, taking aim at Mayer and her leadership team and raising the prospect of a proxy battle.

Yahoo has struggled to grow its Internet business, which includes selling search and display ads on its news and sports sites and email service, in the face of competition from Alphabet Inc's Google unit and Facebook Inc <fb.o>.

Mayer's turnaround efforts have had little tangible effect so far.

The company's revenue has fallen slightly since she took the helm in mid-2012, and Yahoo's share of U.S. web searches is essentially flat with three years ago, gaining no ground on market leader Google.

Yahoo's shares were down 1.2 percent in afternoon trading on Monday.

Up to Friday's close, the stock had lost about a third of its value in the past 12 months.

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