Yahoo's London staff waiting for axe to fall

London-based staff at internet company Yahoo were on tenterhooks today as the company was expected to reveal the scale and location of job losses at the firm. Insiders say more than 1500 employees worldwide will be axed.

The company previously flagged job losses, saying they would be pushed through before Christmas.

Yahoo is expected to cut its workforce in high-cost markets, likely to include the US and Europe, and replace critical staff by hiring in lower-cost economies such as eastern Europe, India and South-east Asia. The lay-offs will hit hardest in the labour-intensive areas of human resources and finance, the firm has indicated.

Investors are still waiting for one high-level job loss, that of founder and chief executive Jerry Yang, widely criticised for driving away Microsoft's $44.6 billion (£30.1 billion) offer for the company. That deal at $35 a share was worth almost three times the company's current value at around $12 a share.