Microsoft to hire 400 Yahoo workers

San Francisco - Microsoft Corp is to hire 400 workers from Yahoo Inc as part of their deal announced last week to collaborate on search advertising, the companies said in a regulatory filing.

The two companies are also to jointly select 150 other Yahoo employees to help with the transition of Yahoo's search and related advertising systems to Microsoft technology, they said Tuesday.

In other details that emerged about the 10-year deal, the companies said the agreement could be terminated in July 2010 by mutual consent.

Microsoft would also pay Yahoo 150 million dollars over three years to help Yahoo cover its costs in getting the partnership started. This payment was in addition to the 88 per cent of revenues from search-related advertising generated on Yahoo's sites.//dpa