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Yahoo is laying off 2,000 employees as new CEO Scott Thompson sweeps out jobs that don't fit into his plans for turning around the beleaguered Internet company. The cuts announced Wednesday represent about 14 percent of the 14,100 workers employed by Yahoo.

Facebook said Tuesday that it has filed a countersuit against Yahoo, claiming that Yahoo violates Facebook patents that relate to photo-sharing, the news feed, tagging digital media and other Web elements that build in social features in Web sites.

Yahoo said it would appoint three new independent directors to its board in April, as the Internet company aims to complete an overhaul of its board and leadership while avoiding a proxy fight with an unhappy large shareholder.

Facebook has purchased hundreds of IBM patents in a bid to bolster its intellectual-property standing as it squares off against Yahoo in a high-profile infringement lawsuit.

Yahoo has put the IP squeeze on Facebook, slapping it with a patent lawsuit during the quiet period in the run up to the social network's IPO.

Yahoo Inc sued Facebook Inc on Monday over 10 patents that include methods and systems for advertising on the Web, according to a copy of the lawsuit.

Yahoo’s new CEO Scott Thompson is preparing a massive restructuring of the Internet search firm, including layoffs that are likely to number in the thousands, according to a report.

Yahoo has demanded licensing fees from Facebook for use of its technology, the companies said on Monday, potentially engulfing social media in the patent battles and lawsuits raging across much of the tech sector.

Yahoo Inc and its Asian partners, China's Alibaba and Japan's Softbank Corp, have called off talks over a tax-free sale of the U.S. company's Asian assets, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Yahoo will forge its future without Chairman Roy Bostock and three other board members, the struggling Internet company said.