Internet giant, Yahoo, is closing down its China office as part of a worldwide consolidation aimed at cutting costs.
The Beijing research center is Yahoo’s only remaining physical presence in the country after it sold its Chinese operations to Alibaba in 2005.
A spokesperson for Yahoo told newsmen that “around 350 jobs” would be eliminated.
“We are constantly making changes to align resources, and to foster better collaboration and innovation across our business,” Yahoo said in a statement.
The closure of its China branch by the Internet giant, however, doesn’t come as a huge surprise.
Yahoo has been retreating from the Chinese market. It stopped offering services to email users in China in 2013.
It’s often had a tense relationship with the Chinese government. Controversially the firm handed over information to the authorities that led to the jailing of two Chinese dissidents.
But according to reports, the shut down has nothing to do with government pressure or censorship. Rather, it’s been caused by Yahoo’s desire to cut its global operating costs.
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