Mike Snider, and Kaja Whitehouse

USA TODAY

Struggling search engine company Yahoo Inc. said it plans to cut about 15% of its workforce as part of a $400 million cost-cutting effort intended to "simplify" the troubled Internet company.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo plans to lay off about 1,500 employees and close five offices in Dubai, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Milan — with the bulk of cuts by the end of March, Yahoo said Tuesday.

By the end of 2016, the online and mobile advertising company expects to have about 9,000 employees and fewer than 1,000 contractors, down from closer to 12,000 last year.

The cuts were announced as part of Yahoo's newly announced goal to "simplify the company" amid criticisms that Mayer has failed to grow it through acquisitions and hiring. In addition to staff reductions, Yahoo will thin its online and mobile offerings to support those that generate the most revenue.

Also, as the company attempts to separate its Internet advertising and media business from its $25 billion stake in Chinese Internet retailing giant Alibaba, Yahoo's board will entertain strategic proposals, which could potentially include either a sale of part of the company or a potential merger.

Yahoo (YHOO) shares fell about 2% in after-hours trading Tuesday to $28.44, however, as shareholders reacted to the new plan and the news that Charles Schwab has stepped down from the board, marking the second director to resign in just two months. Shares sank 3% early Wednesday.

Board member Max Levchin departed in December.

Yahoo latest strategic plan likely just buys time

Mayer's plan to simplify the business through downsizing is likely aimed at pleasing shareholders who have been calling on her to concede that her turnaround plan has failed and put the core Web businesses up for sale.

But some Yahoo shareholders said they were not impressed by Tuesday's plan. Yahoo’s simplification strategy "does not fully address the core issues which have destroyed shareholder value — poor capital allocation, bad strategic partnerships, out of control spending and a bloated workforce,” hedge fund firm SpringOwl said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

SpringOwl has previously called for Yahoo to radically cut costs and hire a new CEO to carry it out.

Last month, hedge fund investor Starboard Value threatened a board battle unless “significant change” is made, including a new CEO and efforts to sell the company.

In all, Yahoo said it will reduce operating expenses by more than $400 million by the end of 2016 by dropping support for products such as Yahoo Games. It will also "explore" the sale of non-strategic assets, including real estate, that could raise $1 billion in cash.

"We believe a simplified Yahoo will increase shareholder value over the long term,” Mayer during a conference call Tuesday. “Having fewer products means we can improve those products faster and increase profitability and focus.”

However, the changes will also result in a transition year with lower revenue and earnings, she said.

Yahoo expects revenue after subtracting the cost of traffic acquisition will range, in the first quarter 2016, from $820 million to $860 million, a decline of at least 14%, and for fiscal year 2016 revenue of $3.4 billion to $3.6 billion, a 12% drop.

Yahoo on Tuesday also reported fourth-quarter earnings of 13 cents, beating analysts' expectations of 12 cents per share, according to S&P Capital IQ Consensus Estimates. Fourth quarter adjusted revenue of $1 billion beat estimates of $948 million.

Starboard — owners of 0.8% of Yahoo's outstanding shares — initially urged Yahoo to spin off its 15% Alibaba stake. But the value of that stake fell from $40 billion to about $25 billion, and in November Starboard urged Yahoo to reconsider selling some of its core assets instead.

Tuesday's announced layoffs are just the latest in a history of large layoffs conducted by Yahoo. Most recently, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson in April 2012 announced the company's largest staff reduction of about 2,000 employees, or 14% of the 14,100 workers.

In advance of Tuesday's announcement, analysts' expectations of layoffs ranged from 10% to 25% of the company's nearly 11,000 estimated employees.

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider