Putting an end to rumors that have surrounded the internet giant over the past few weeks, executives at Yahoo announced plans to layoff as many as 1,000 workers.

Earlier reports of layoffs at Yahoo had put the figures as high as 2,500. The company employs about 14,000 people.

While the news at Yahoo appears bleak, founder Jerry Yang who returned to the company last year to shake things up, said he still thinks better days are ahead. The Associated Press quoted Yang as saying that Yahoo will see a payoff from the tough times it's suffering through now sometime in 2009.