30-4-2024 (SINGAPORE) In a strategic shift, Yahoo is reportedly jettisoning its editorial and social media workforce in Singapore to focus purely on curating content from partners and third-party sources. The digital news platform, known for blending original reporting with syndicated material, will be parting ways with some local staff as it recalibrates its approach.
Yahoo determined its partner-provided content consistently drives higher reader engagement levels. This prompted the decision to streamline operations by phasing out its in-house editorial arm in the city-state.
As reported by The Edge Singapore on 29 April, 17 staff members are affected by Yahoo’s revised Singapore strategy and will depart the company after 7 May. They will receive slightly over two weeks’ salary for each year of service as severance, an anonymous source told the publication. Those laid off met with HR representatives on 23 April.
Under the new curation model, Yahoo is hiring three editors and a market lead dedicated to sifting through and presenting relevant news and content for its Singapore audience. Its current roster of syndication partners supplying material includes HuffPost, AFP News, Reuters, EdgeProp, and The Edge Singapore itself.
Impacted employees were informed they could apply for the newly-created curation roles, The Edge Singapore stated. A Yahoo spokesperson confirmed the “shift in editorial strategy to better align with strategic priorities for Yahoo Singapore.” They assured readers would continue accessing “the content they most regularly engage with and enjoy” across news, lifestyle, and finance verticals drawn from diverse local and international sources.
The layoffs represent Yahoo’s latest workforce reduction in the city-state, following the departure of seven journalists last year and an earlier retrenchment exercise in 2016. While pivoting to a curation approach locally, the tech firm will maintain a hybrid original/third-party content mix across most of its other Yahoo News sites globally and continue investing in Asia.
Separately in February 2023, the US media conglomerate announced plans to cut around 1,000 jobs or 12% of its workforce in an overhaul of its ad tech division. That marked the first phase of broader restructuring efforts at the company.
