MUMBAI: Yahoo Inc is planning to cut 2,000 jobs as part of its major restructuring exercise aimed at making the company leaner and more competitive as it plans to turn around its fortune under new chief executive Scott Thompson.

The layoffs are a result of declining revenues arising due to competition from Google and Facebook. Last year, Yahoo‘s revenue totaled $4.98 billion, compared with Facebook‘s $3.71 billion, accomplished with just 3,200 employees.

“Today, the company will begin the process of informing employees about these changes. As part of that effort, approximately 2,000 people will be notified of job elimination or phased transition,” Yahoo said in a statement.

The company expects to save as much as $375 million annually through the downsizing exercise. It also expects to recognise the majority of an estimated $125 to $145 million pretax cash charge relating to employee severance in its second quarter financial results.

Yahoo said it would provide more details of its plans when it releases first-quarter results on 17 April.

"Today‘s actions are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo! — smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require. We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities," said Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson.

He added, "Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first — and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal. Unfortunately, reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate positions. We deeply value our people and all they‘ve contributed to Yahoo!."

The company says it has identified key parts of the business — a select group of core businesses, the platforms that support those core businesses, and the data that drives deep personalisation for users and ROI for advertisers — where the company will intensify efforts and redeploy resources globally, all focused on increasing shareholder value.

"With a clear focus on profitability and growth, the company will be disciplined in its investments and radically simplify how it builds, launches and maintains many of its properties and products," the statement added.

Yahoo is also fighting a battle with hedge fund manager and Third Point owner Daniel Loeb, who is seeking to appoint four of his favoured people as new directors to Yahoo‘s board. With a 5.8 per cent stake in Yahoo, Third Point is the largest shareholder in the company.