Next Year is when the office will be closed; the business partners were told

50 jobs are at risk after Yahoo Middle East made an announcement of its intentions to close the Dubai office next year. In an attempt to have its multinational operations streamlined, the internet giant in the US is expected to close its city-based internet office in April 2016. The office was opened in 2009 after its acquisition of Maktoob.com for about $ 164 million which by then was the largest social network by then having 19 million users. Close to 50 people were declared redundant in January after Yahoo made an announcement of its plans to slash the team in UAE by 50 %.

Following the cuts, the company said it was adamant that the office in Dubai would remain open. Other Yahoo offices that have been closed in Middle East are Jordan, Amman and Cairo, Egypt. The decision came amidst the company’s turbulent times. The main business of Yahoo is selling online digital display adverts and ads relating to internet searches are in distress because ad prices are dropping and marketers prefer mobile exposure.

In a bid to turn round the company, Yahoo made an announcement that it could attempt to have its core business switched off and plans to have Alibaba, its Chinese stake spin off. Calls have also been made to Marissa Mayer to step down.

A yahoo spokesman had this to say: ‘ Our employees based in Dubai have today been informed that we have undertaken a difficult decision to have the office closed by the end of April as part of Yahoo’s efforts to streamline the business and set up the company’s growth in the long term. We are extremely grateful for the contributions and hard work of our employees. We shall continue to offer consumer services in English and Arabic and also our advertising inventory through marketplaces in Yahoo and other exchanges of advertising.’