Microsoft eases worries about layoffs

Software giant Microsoft Corp. suggested Friday that it had no plans for major layoffs if it succeeded in buying popular website operator Yahoo Inc., saying there were plenty of employee opportunities throughout the company.

Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s platforms and services division, said in an e-mail to employees in his unit that the company would dedicate “significant rewards and compensation” to retain Yahoo and Microsoft employees.

“While some overlap is expected in any combination of this size, we should remember that Microsoft . . . has hired over 20,000 people since 2005, and we would look to place talented employees throughout the company as a whole,” Johnson wrote in the e-mail.

Meanwhile, two Detroit pension funds sued Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo and its directors, saying they breached their duties to shareholders in trying to thwart the takeover.

The lawsuit was filed in Delaware on Thursday by lawyers representing Detroit’s police and fire retirement system and general retirement system, as well as “all other similarly situated public shareholders.”

On Jan. 31, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft made a half-cash, half-stock offer of $31 a share that represented a 62% premium.

Yahoo rejected the deal valued at $44.6 billion, calling it inadequate, but said it might be willing to negotiate if the price were right.