Yahoo’s going to Bellevue, but it’s Bellevue, Washington, and not New York’s Bellevue Hospital Center, in which the search company will open an office. You may still have to question Yahoo’s sanity, though, as this move puts it in Microsoft’s territory.
Actually, a map of the area shows that about four miles should separate the two corporations. Which begs the question: would a nearby state park or an adjacent country club make the better battleground?
Okay, okay. In all seriousness, it appears that Yahoo made a very intelligent move. “The lease includes the right to put a big Yahoo sign on the building, overlooking Interstate 405,” notes Todd Bishop, who broke the story. Also, “[a]mong other things, the new office could put it in a better position to recruit Microsoft employees.”
Yahoo’s been losing employees left and right as of late, so that second point could be especially important. But Bishop states that around 500 people will be able to inhabit the new offices, and since there are currently less than ten Bellevue-specific Yahoo job listings, we may have to just see what happens in that respect.
In a broader sense, any sort of expansion looks good for Yahoo. With the company so often coming in second or third behind its competitors, this shows it can still make bold moves.
