Image via WikipediaSource: TechCrunch.com

NYT Bits is reporting the departure of Usama Fayyad, chief data officer and EVP of research and strategic data solutions, which is expected to be officially announced later today. According to the report, Fayyad has been “in charge of mining the terabytes of data collected by the company to improve things like the targeting of ads and content to Yahoo users.”

Veteran developer Jeremy Zawodny also has announced on his blog that he will turn in his purple badge within the next few weeks. Zawodny has been with Yahoo since 1999, helping to spearhead important projects like the Yahoo Developer Network.

This has not been a good day for Yahoo. Its stock has plummeted since the news of its expected joint announcement with Google and unraveling of talks with Microosft broke earlier.

Nor has it been a good year for Yahoo’s HR. In February alone, Bradley Horowitz, head of Yahoo’s advanced technology division; Salim Ismail, head of Yahoo Brickhouse; and Jeff Bonforte, VP of social search, departed amidst broader layoffs. Then in early April, VP of Yahoo Music Ian Rogers resigned as well to join a stealth startup.

Update: Senior Director of International Business and Product Management Matthew Berardo is also leaving for LiveJournal to fill the positions of vice president and general manager.