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Yang: Yahoo cuts 'very hard, but very necessary'

Here's the full text of CEO Jerry Yang's goodbye message to the company and the 1,520 people who lost their Yahoo jobs starting Wednesday.

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Yahoo began laying off 1,520 employees around the world on Wednesday as the company tries to deal with its financial difficulties.

Here's what outgoing Chief Executive Jerry Yang had to say to employees about it in a memo that uses his trademark lowercase style.

yahoos,

today, most of our layoffs in the US are happening, and they've been underway in other regions around the world.

this is a tough time for all of us and i wanted to take a moment to reach out to you.

Outgoing CEO Jerry Yang
Outgoing CEO Jerry Yang Yahoo

saying goodbye to colleagues and friends is never easy. they all are dedicated members of our yahoo! family, who worked beside us and shared our passion.

but as you all know, we must take actions to better perform in today's turbulent global economy. while we've found efficiencies in many parts of our business, laying off employees is unfortunately unavoidable. our difficult decision to let colleagues go reflects the changes we're having to make to better align costs with revenues - something businesses in virtually every sector are also having to do.

for those who are affected by these layoffs, i am extremely grateful for your contributions to yahoo!. we realize the impact this will have on you. that's why, consistent with our past practices, we're making every effort to support you with severance packages and other services.

the reductions we're making are very hard, but they are also very necessary--as we focus on the long-term health of our business. to those who are leaving us, i extend my heartfelt thanks on behalf of yahoos everywhere--you will be missed.

thanks,

jerry