Yahoo Inc. freezes employee pay raises

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — Yahoo Inc.’s employees will forgo their usual pay raises this year as the slumping Internet company struggles to boost its profits in a brutal recession.

The Sunnyvale-based company confirmed the salary freeze Thursday, the day after informing employees of the decision.

The austerity measure marks one of the first cost-cutting actions taken by Yahoo’s new chief executive, Carol Bartz, who was hired two weeks ago to engineer a turnaround.

“Our management decided this was the responsible thing to do,” Yahoo spokesman Brad Williams said. Some workers still could get raise this year if they are promoted to other jobs, Williams said.

Pay freezes are becoming more commonplace across the country as companies scramble to lower their expenses without firing employees. President Barack Obama joined in the trend on his first full day in the White House by eliminating raises for workers making more than $100,000 annually.

In more extreme instances, tech companies such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Seagate Technology are imposing steep pay cuts affecting thousands of workers.

Yahoo has about 13,700 employees after laying off 1,500 workers last month. No other job cuts are planned, Williams said, although management has previously warned another purge could come, depending on how much longer the 13-month-old recession lasts.