Latest rumor has Yahoo firing 3,000 workers

Newly appointed Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Chief Executive Carol Bartz reportedly is considering firing 3,000 workers to cut costs, according to a tip received by 24/7 Wall St.

The rumor, which has not been confirmed, makes sense. Shares of the Internet portal are down more than 40 percent over the past 52 weeks amid investor concerns about the poor advertising climate and lingering resentment over management's failure to make a deal with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).

According to 24/7, Bartz's early look at the company shows that she needed to reduce Yahoo's staff of about 12,000 or take out as much as $850 million (a figure which the blog says may be wrong. "Bartz will make sharp cuts whether a search deal with Microsoft is completed or not," the blog said..

Fourth quarter earnings are set for Jan. 27. Indications are that they will be miserable. Earnings are expected to be 13 cents per share (or as low as 7 cents) compared with 15 cents a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue is expected to fall 2.1% to $1.37 billion.

Given the expected decline in advertising sales, those estimates may be optimistic. The question is not if there will be job cuts but when.