Sounds like search outfit Ask is having a bit of, ahem, engine trouble. Employees tell Valleywag that the company is buzzing with talk of layoffs. And now come reports that Ask proprietor InterActiveCorp (IACI) may soon scrap Teoma, the engine that powers the company’s search. “There is indeed a big shake-up coming,” a company insider told Silicon Alley Insider. “A new Ask. Some think a reduction in workforce is likely. There are no sacred cows, Teoma may be sold or simply abandoned, which is hundreds of engineers who work on the core search engine, in place of just using Google’s search with our special brand of user interface.”

No sacred cows, huh? If that means Ask is a student of the Jerry Yang School of Corporate Turnarounds, well … maybe Microsoft will have a little money left over after it swallows Yahoo.

UPDATE: PaidContent has confirmed that some 100 Ask employees will be sacked come April.