Analysis and discussion of issues that impact business

It looks like even the seemingly invincible have belts that need to be tightened.

Yahoo Inc. plans to close its U.S. offices during the final week of the year, a cost-cutting measure that will require most of the Internet icon’s 10,500 workers to use their vacation time if they want to be paid for the time off.

Forcing employees to take a vacation or a pay cut will not sit well in some quarters.

In anti big business circles, this will reinforce the "evil" of corporate America.

“Taking a little time off during a work week when so many of our partners and advertisers are also closed is the prudent thing for Yahoo to do,” Libby Sartain, the company’s senior vice president for human resources, wrote in a Sept. 21 e-mail posted on Valleywag.com, an online site devoted to Silicon Valley gossip.

That is true, but it's more than that.

Every little bit helps Yahoo right now because its online advertising growth has been tapering off, an unexpected development that prompted management to warn investors last week that the company’s revenue will fall slightly below analyst estimates.

The market is getting more competitive and Yahoo is just trying to strengthen its position.

That disappointment added to the anxieties that had already surrounded Yahoo as it scrambles to catch up to Google Inc. in the Internet’s lucrative search market while trying to fend off threats from other increasingly popular Web sites like News Corp.’s MySpace.com and YouTube.com.

I can understand all of that, but I don't understand PR departments sometimes.

Contacted Monday, Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens confirmed the e-mail’s authenticity, as well as the company’s closure plans. “This will make sure everyone has time to recharge their batteries,” Stevens said.

Now, I think that's a little disingenuous. They're forcing their employees to "recharge their batteries". Why then? It's not like they're gearing up for the holiday rush. January is not a great month for business. Of course, it's primarily a cost-cutting move. And that's understandable. Just say so.

The move also will help Yahoo save money by lowering its expenses for lighting and heating its offices. It will also enable the Sunnyvale-based company to reduce its liabilities for its employees’ accrued vacation.

I think we all understand that. It's the spin that hacks people off more than anything.