In a company-wide restructuring, McGraw-Hill Cos. has cut 375 jobs, including 70 from its Information and Media group.
The staff trims are the latest in a year-long series that saw a total of 210 employees axed from the Information and Media unit and 1,045 employees eliminated across the board.
McGraw-Hill Information and Media publishes BusinessWeek magazine, which had a total verified paid circulation of 925,225 as of June 30 — 2.8% over its rate base of 900,000. Those numbers dropped dramatically between 2005, when the magazine had a circulation of 986,549, and 2006, when it dipped down to 926,028, but since then circulation has held steady.
BusinessWeek shuttered its Chicago edition in June, after launching with a circulation of 60,000 in November 2007. For the main edition, ad pages for January-September were down 14.6% between 2007 and 2008, per the Publishers Information Bureau. Spokespeople for McGraw-Hill would not say if any executives had been included in the cuts, or if the company would undergo further changes. McGraw-Hill also publishes Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, as well as media properties serving the aviation, construction and energy industries.
“Our diverse portfolio of businesses and ongoing cost containment efforts have helped lessen the impact of challenging economic conditions in 2008,” said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies, in a statement. “The actions we are announcing today are a continuation of these efforts and will help us continue to manage the company efficiently through a difficult environment while taking all necessary steps to better serve our customers and shareholders.”
McGraw-Hill’s education unit fared the worst in this round of staff trims, dismissing 215, while 50 were cut from financial services and 40 from corporate.
