Yahoo said on Tuesday it has removed CEO Carol Bartz and replaced her on an interim basis with Chief Financial Officer Tim Morse, ending a rocky two-year run marked by stagnating growth and a bitter rift with Chinese partner Alibaba.
The outspoken Bartz, famous for her salty language, sent a two-sentence email to employees that was obtained by Reuters.
It said that Chairman Roy Bostock fired her over the phone.
Bostock had only just voiced his public support in June for the CEO, a lightning rod for criticism from Wall Street, and known for her tough attitude.
Shares in the company rose in after-hours trade to $US13.72, from a close of $US12.91 on the Nasdaq.
"I am very sad to tell you that I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward," Bartz said in the email.
The news was first reported by tech blog AllThingsD, which cited company sources.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco and Edwin Chan, writing by Edwin Chan; editing by Carol Bishopric)
Copyright Reuters. Click for restrictions.
A confirmation email has been sent to your email address - SUPPLIED GOES EMAIL HERE. Please click on the link in the email to verify your email address. You need to verify your email before you can start posting.
If you do not receive your confirmation email within the next few minutes, it may be because the email has been captured by a junk mail filter. Please ensure you add the domain @itnews.com.au to your white-listed senders.