Marissa Mayer called Yahoo's layoffs a 'remix'

Things aren't fantastic at Yahoo at the moment.

Despite a renewed focus on mobile and an influx of skilled developers and engineers, the company still struggles to define its place on the modern tech scene.

That struggle is no more evident than in the company's most recent quarterly results, which included rising costs, reduced net income, and layoffs.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, in a conference call with reporters and analysts, referred to the net layoffs of 1,100 employees in the first quarter of 2015 as part of a "remixing and pivoting" of the company.

A "remix" is when you create a different version of something, usually by adding or removing elements. It's a term most often applied to songs, although it's also appropriate to use in the context of photographs, films, and artwork.

CEOs rarely use it to describe something as momentous as a major enterprise's transition, especially if said transition involves layoffs of longtime employees, because it could potentially appear flippant to observers. If you run your own firm (no matter how large), it always pays to use as formal language as possible when referring to anything that affects your employees' lives and careers.

Mayer's "remix" centers on transforming Yahoo into a vital Web resource for people around the world, one centered on search, digital content, and communications. As she said during the call:

"As we see new formats appear, be it phones, tablets, watches, televisions, we think that that ability to play the role of the guide and really inform, connect and entertain users will stand the test of time and these new areas of revenue for us in mobile, video, native, and social can really go the distance."

If Yahoo's income continues to dip, however, Mayer may find her strategy in trouble.