engine - 1:50 pm on Jun 10, 2008 (gmt 0)

An employee severance plan put in place by Yahoo to protect workers after a merger with Microsoft should be rescinded immediately, according to a brief filed by plaintiffs in a shareholder lawsuit against Yahoo and its directors. The plaintiffs say the plan could skew the outcome of a proxy battle between Yahoo and the activist investor Carl C. Icahn for control of the company. Lawyers representing two Detroit pension plans that are suing Yahoo asked a judge in Delaware to hold a trial to determine the fate of the plan ahead of the company’s Aug. 1 shareholder meeting. Legal experts said a trial could shine a light on Yahoo’s talks with Microsoft and affect the outcome of the proxy fight.

Yahoo Shareholders Want To Cut Severance Plan [nytimes.com]

From June 10, 2008
Yahoo Enhances Severance Benefits
[webmasterworld.com]