The technology blog TechCrunch set tongues wagging this week with news that Yahoo is preparing to lay off 20 percent of its total staff. Citing two unnamed sources, the post read:

“Yahoo is preparing to lay off 20% of total staff, we’ve heard from two independent sources, and managers have been asked to begin to make the tough decisions on who stays and who goes. This news comes just days after Google announced a 10% pay raise and $1,000 spot bonus for all employees. This is a story we’ve been tracking down for weeks.”

Now Yahoo is fighting back by announcing that TechCrunch’s post simply isn’t accurate.

“Yahoo is always evaluating expenses to align with the company’s financial goals,” Charles Sipkins, a spokesman for the Sunnyvale, California-based company, said in an e-mail, as reported by Bloomberg. “However, a 20 percent reduction in Yahoo’s workforce across the board is misleading and inaccurate.”

As the rumor spread, Yahoo fell 14 cents to $16.80 at 4 p.m., New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Nevertheless, TechCrunch is sticking by its story, maintaining that the site has “confirmed that managers are being asked to target 20 percent. Perhaps they’re finding wiggle room in the total percentage, or what employee groups are affected (U.S. v. international, etc.) Also, given how widespread this information is within Yahoo’s ranks, I don’t see the point of denying the plans.”

Staff cuts aren’t the only rumors swirling around Yahoo these days. Earlier this month, there was talk of a pending takeover when the company revealed another quarter of less-than-impressive revenue results, according to industry observers. Yahoo reported revenue of $1.6 billion for the third quarter of 2010, a mere 2 percent increase from the third quarter of 2009.