Yahoo to Close Cairo Office by Year End

Yahoo has decided to shut down its office in Cairo, Egypt by the end of this year as the company tries to revitalize its business.

The Internet company said the Middle East and Africa region remains an important market for it, and it will continue to serve users and advertisers, including in Egypt, from its operations in Amman and Dubai.

The company did not disclose the number of employees who would lose their jobs in Cairo. “All of our Cairo employees will be treated with respect and fairness through this transition, and we are offering separation packages to all employees which exceed local law requirements,” Yahoo’s spokeswoman Sara Gorman said via email.

The decision by Yahoo to shutter its Cairo office is said to be part of the company’s global effort “to streamline operations, encourage collaboration by bringing more Yahoos together in fewer locations, and build a strong global business that is set up for long-term growth.”

Yahoo, which is going through a major refocusing, including a string of acquisitions and a recent change of logo, said in October last year it planned to shut down its struggling business in South Korea by the end of the year to focus its resources. The Internet company had been struggling in South Korea against large local players such as NHN’s Naver and Daum Communications.

Yahoo runs the Yahoo Maktoob portal in the region, an offshoot of the 2009 acquisition of Arabic Internet services company Maktoob.com.

Source: CIO Magazine