14 DAY TRIAL // Yahoo is said to have taken the decision to shut down the only office left in China, where approximately 350 workers are currently working.
Among the reasons that have led to this rather sudden decision is the fact that the facility was considered to be too expensive to rein, or at least this is what the managing director of China Market Research in Shanghai declared, as cited by South China Morning Post.
This resolution seems to be part of a series of staff dismissals which have taken place in the last few months, and although the number of people who have been laid off is not alarming to this point, we cannot help but wonder if a situation similar to the one in 2012 could arise, when Yahoo cut 14 percent of workforce.
The Beijing-based facility is a research and development center, but it is considered of little relevance given that Yahoo stopped offering its services in China in 2013.
With giant rivals such as Google, it comes as no surprise that Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer is taking this kind of strict measures whose aim is to reduce costs.
Yahoo’s retreat from China
The closing of the Beijing facility is considered by some as an imminent result following the 2013 agreement with Alibaba Group.
Although there are people who consider that the Yahoo retreat was also due to some issues with the government, given that some years back a group of activists accused the tech giant of collaborating with China’s government, Yahoo representatives deny this kind of allegations, stating that the only reason is cost reduction, a process which began months earlier.
However, it should be mentioned that not long ago the Chinese government requested that foreign companies provide source code, perform audits and a few other measures which suggested that the government’s intention might be to exercise some control over the Internet company.