Current Story

IAC: 100 Layoffs Coming At Ask.com; Search Deal With Google Possible

By Joseph Weisenthal - Fri 29 Feb 2008 12:17 PM PST

A source has confirmed to us a coming shakeup at IAC-owned Ask.com that includes about 100 layoffs in the April time frame. SAI reported this morning that the site may pull the plug on its own search efforts, and instead power itself with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) search, a la AOL. We’ve learned that as part of the ad deal between IAC (NSDQ: IACI) and Google, which the parties re-upped in November, there’s a clause allowing Google to engage more deeply with Ask’s algorithmic search. A decision to go with Google completely for search hasn’t been decided on definitively, but something along these lines may occur.

Posted in: Companies, Google, IACI, Technologies/Formats, Search

Tags: ask.com

Related Research from Alacrastore.com

3 Comments

Share/E-mail

Permalink

3 Responses:

From stone Fri 29 Feb 2008 02:17 PM

There’s no in between position --- Ask.com is either a search engine or not. Sounds like they’ve decided to be Google reseller. AOL can get away with this because search is not their core business. Ask.com cannot get away with this because it’s their *only* business. This is desperate, sad move.

From JB Fri 29 Feb 2008 03:58 PM

and this is their a return on investment for a $1 billion dollar purchase price? I agree with Stone - their little bells and whistles on ask.com doesn’t add value beyond what google provides. Whoever was on the selling end of that transaction made a great move.

From vangod Sun 02 Mar 2008 12:01 PM

Rumors about Ask dropping its search efforts do not make any sense and must be hogwash. Unlike Yahoo, Microsoft, or AOL, Ask IS a search engine. Switching to Google would mean they are nothing but an empty shell. Anyone’s grandma can build a site like that. It hasn’t worked for AOL despite their captive ISP users, and it doesn’t sound anything like a billion dollar business that Barry Diller would want to run. In any business it’s differentiation that counts and they are smart enough to know that.