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Yahoo Planned Huge Worker Walkout: Lawsuit

Posted Jun 2, 08 9:10 PM CDT in Technology,  Business 

(Newser) – Yahoo planned to pay all 14,000 workers to quit if Microsoft bought the company in a recent takeover bid, a lawsuit unsealed today claims. The shareholder complaint blasts execs for burying Microsoft's $1.5 billion offer to workers, and rejecting a $40-per-share offer last year. Yahoo tried to stop the unsealing, which revealed internal talks and private emails, Portfolio reports.

In one email, a Yahoo consultant called CEO Jerry Yang's walkout plan "nuts," while a VP described it as "a bizarre outcome if people who stick around make off worse" than those who leave. The 42-page complaint also slams Yahoo's board for letting Yang handle the talks, and leaving independent directors out of "critical meetings with the company."

Source Portfolio

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Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., Monday, May 5, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Striking Yahoo janitors and supporters hold signs during a rally in front of Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., Tuesday, May 20, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
In this Jan. 6, 2008 file photo, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang smiles during his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
A Yahoo worker leaves Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., Monday, May 5, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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