Microsoft Updates Employees On Yahoo! Proposal!

An e-mail sent by Kevin Johnson, president of the Microsoft Platforms & Services Division to provide employees of the Platforms & Services Division with an update on the proposal to combine with Yahoo, clearly indicates, how seriously is Microsoft surging ahead with the merger.

"I want to provide all employees in the Platforms & Services Division with an update on our February 1 proposal to combine with Yahoo!, and answer a few common questions that have been asked," said Kevin. "As we’ve discussed, the online advertising industry is growing rapidly and is expected to be an $80B industry by 2010."

Mr. Johnson has mailed a long memo the highlights of which are:

• Microsoft’s given a compelling proposal to Yahoo and that it was as fair as Microsoft could possibly offer to Yahoo.
• Till now there hasn't been any agreement between Yahoo and Microsoft.
• If all goes well and Yahoo accepts the proposal then the transaction shall close by 2nd half of 2008.
• The integration process will be carried with ultimate care so as not to affect current normal operations of the Division.
• The proposal has considered the present Yahoo employees in the integration process.

And advises Microsoft's employees to stay focused with their current work while the transaction is on going. This one being similar to how Jerry Yang asked Yahoos to stay focused when it all started.

There's an array of more specific Question and Answer following the letter, which discuss the most common questions being raised amongst employees.

Specifically, the following questions have been answered:

• What impact would this combination have on staffing? Would there be any reductions?
• How should we view the two cultures at Microsoft and Yahoo!? How would we bring the two cultures together?
• How would we address the multiple brands and technologies within Live, MSN, and Yahoo!? Which brand would we keep?
• If we move forward with a combination, what’s our plan for addressing Yahoo!’s technology infrastructure, since it’s non-Windows based?
• Would we maintain locations in both Silicon Valley and Redmond?
• How should we interact with Yahoo! employees?
• How does this impact our relationship with customers and partners?
• What can I expect going forward?

Apparently, what the memo misses out on is the fact that it hasn't been smooth sailing for Microsoft till now, rather Microsoft's begun to go ahead with measures, widely considered as hostile. On the other the Yahoo's board has been criticized for rejecting Microsoft's offer and is facing different law suits, at the same time taking various measures to protect its employees in case the merger materializes.

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