Yahoo chairman fires CEO Carol Bartz over the phone

Bartz took the reins in January 2009 with hopes of reviving stalled growth and competing with up-and-coming rivals.

On Tuesday,her efforts were abruptly halted after Bostock called with the bad news.

I am very sad to tell you that Ive just been fired over the phone by Yahoos chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward, the outspoken CEO said in a two-sentence email to employees obtained by Reuters.

Some analysts said Bartzs departure signaled the company had run out of options after failing to dominate the advertising and content markets and handing over its search operations to Microsoft Corp. That partnership,under which Microsoft handles search for Yahoos websites and keeps a portion of ad revenue,appears to favour the software company at Yahoos expense.

Yahoo said a new executive leadership council would help Morse in managing day-to-day operations as well as supporting a comprehensive strategic review to position the company for growth. The decision to oust Bartz was reached by an unanimous vote late last week,according to a person close to the company.

Bartz arrived at Yahoo after a strong showing at software giant Autodesk with high hopes of turning around the company. Yahoo is worth about 16 billion,with much of that ascribed to its roughly 40 per cent stake in Chinas Alibaba.com.