Yahoo to Lay Off 600-700; Bartz Has 1 Year: Reports

Between 650-700 people will be let go from Yahoo on Wednesday morning, according to Kara Swisher.

Making a point to check her facts and check them twice -- mostly because losing a gig is bad, but during the holidays it's really bad -- Swisher is confident the reductions will come from the product division.

The Sunnyvale-based company must reduce costs and spur growth if it wants to phase out of its present funk.

To that, CEO Carol Bartz has been under a microscope, with experts looking to see where she'll take the company next.

Dealbook.NYTimes.com speculates, after a meeting with Japanese mogul Masayoshi Son, that Bartz has about a year to shake things up or "lose her job."

"A person close to the board said she had its full support through at least the end of her contract, which runs through 2012," the blog reports.

Mr. Son partnered with Yahoo to start Yahoo Japan. He's also the founder of Softbank. He's a multi-billionaire. What he says matters.

And he sounds frustrated: “I said from the very beginning, ‘Yahoo should position itself as a technology innovation company, not as a media company.’ ”

This year's cuts may be a harbinger for some bigger fish.

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