Microsoft Corp. is again going back to the bargaining table…well, sort of.

May 18th, 2008: “Microsoft announced that it is continuing to explore and pursue its alternatives to improve and expand its online services and advertising business.” Microsoft Corp.

It appears that Microsoft is going to try to work a deal with Yahoo! using the July 3rd deadline of the Yahoo’s annual meeting as a [possible pressure point.

If Yahoo’s founders Jerry Yang and David Filo and the chairman Roy Bostock don’t strike some kind of deal there’s bound to be trouble for them and the entire board of directors come July 3rd.

From what I’ve heard, Microsoft’s bid, if there is one, will not be for the entire company and at a lower price. hmmm

Microsoft will be a good competitor for Google. It will make the industry, as a whole, stronger.

At this point, everyone connected with both companies has to be on pins and needles with emotions all over the place, again. Hopefully, as negotiations will move towards a decision where that is best of both companies, the employees and the public that utilizes their services.

~Diana

…but you’ll soon be losing your job.

The below article was taken from zdnet Australia. I thought you’d like to read what Jerry Yang, Cheif Exec of Yahoo! said to his employees. No, the grammar is not mine…it’s his. How much does this Yahoo! make that he can’t take a typing, English or grammar class?

This is the text of the e-mail Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang sent to his company’s staff on Saturday after Microsoft withdrew its offer to acquire the Internet pioneer.

From: jerry yang
To: [Yahoo Employees]
Sent: Sat May 03 19:26 2008
Subject: today’s news

yahoos,

today microsoft announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire yahoo!. from the beginning of this process, our independent board and leadership team have maintained that microsoft’s offer undervalues the company, and we’re pleased that many of our shareholders agreed with us. our board and leadership team now remain focused on maximizing shareholder value and pursuing strategic opportunities that position us for success and leadership in our markets.

of course, we anticipate that microsoft’s announcement will draw media attention and speculation as to what happens next for yahoo!. that means the spotlight will be on us - just as it has been for the past three months. i’m incredibly proud of how we’ve performed under such scrutiny, with last quarter’s great financial results as a testament to everyone’s hard work and focus. just as we did last quarter, now is the time for us to shine and show what we’re made of.

with the distraction of microsoft’s unsolicited proposal behind us, we must redouble our efforts. we should focus our energies on continuing to execute the most important transition in our history. how will we do this? by executing against the strategies and priorities we already have in place, and by continuing to deliver indispensable experiences for our communities of users, advertisers, publishers and developers.

in the end, it all comes back to who we are as a company. we have a spirit and a culture that is uniquely yahoo! - and we can’t forget that. staying true to who we are has helped us pull through the recent uncertainty we’ve faced, and will continue to be an asset as we move ahead. there’s a reason why we’re the only fortune 500 company with an exclamation point at the end of our name, and now is the time to demonstrate what that exclamation point stands for.

over the next several weeks, sue and i plan to visit as many offices as we can to thank you in-person for everything you’ve done and continue to do for yahoo!. we hope you’re as excited as we are about the future that lies ahead for all of us — together as one yahoo!.

jerry

Again, I’m not a investor person, a money person or a business person…I’m just a person that uses the Internet - a lot. Personally, I prefer Yahoo! for my searches but use Google’s Adsense (coming to this site soon). All this being said, is Yahoo! being a true yahoo or are they making the deal of the century now that they passed on the Microsoft buy-out?

At first, I thought that Chief Exec, Jerry Yang, was about to have his head served for dinner but it appears he wants to pull off a major coo and go into partnership with Google on their searches and possible make a deal with Time Warner Inc’s AOL.

I can’t say that I’m for or against whatever Yahoo! does but the Yahoo! employees need to care because it appears that jobs will be cut whatever deal Yahoo! accepts. Why is it that when mergers happen that jobs are on the line? I can kind of understand some of the upper-crust losing out or moving to other areas because of too many chiefs or duplicate responsibilities. But, can’t Corporate America find a way to save jobs in spite of mergers, buy-outs or acquisitions? Shouldn’t that be paramount? It’s not like the US has a huge surplus of jobs out there to offer these people.

I don’t know, maybe I need to take some business classes (that’ll be the day…not) but it seems this and other mergers are for the shareholders with no thought of the employees that will lose their jobs. And, if this isn’t bad enough…these employees have been dealing with the stress of the Microsoft buy-out for a year now…and it appears it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. Talk about job stress.

Again, loyal American workers lose out to shareholders that will make a lot of money - leaving the loyal workers…out in the dust.

Just my thoughts…I’d love to hear your’s,

~Diana