This image was lost some time after publication.

In his latest companywide memo, copied below, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang wants to "make sure you all realize how essential you are to yahoo!s success." And by "you all" he means all but the 1,000 or so he planned to "reallocate" in the next few months. But maybe it would have been awkward to take those slotted for firing off the email list?

Subject: Building on our strengths yahoos - first off, I want to thank you for the great job youre doing staying focused on executing our priorities. theres obviously been a lot of talk about yahoo! in recent days and we wont let it distract us from pursuing our transformation strategy.

roy and I have communicated about the thorough review process our board is going through right now. the board is focused on maximizing the value of yahoo!s tremendous assets for our shareholders. and it is going to take the time it needs to do it right.

as weve said, no decisions have been made about microsofts proposal. our board is thoughtfully evaluating a wide range of potential strategic alternatives in what is a complex and evolving landscape. and weve hired top advisors to assist through the process.

whats become clear in the past few days is how much people care about this company. weve seen a strong show of support from our users, advertisers, and publishers, reminding us how much they love our products and services. and ive heard from many of you - and from other friends and colleagues from around silicon valley and across the globe - that we need to do whats best for yahoo! and our shareholders. i promise you that the board is going to do that.

the microsoft interest highlights the tremendous strength of the yahoo! brand and assets: our half billion users around the world, our leading products and services, our open ad network, our technology, and most of all, our amazingly talented people.

we have a lot to be excited about and theres more good news to come. yesterday we announced a digital music partnership with rhapsody and our acquisition of foxytunes, maker of the popular music toolbar plugin. today we launched zimbra 5.0, a next generation e-mail and collaboration suite thats a great milestone in our open platform and starting point strategies. and stay tuned for exciting announcements next week at the mobile world congress.

as we look to build on the progress weve been making, i want to make sure you all realize how essential you are to yahoo!s success. as this process moves forward, were going to keep you informed. your hard work and strong commitment are more important now than ever before.

jerry