McGraw-Hill Fired Additional 375 Staff In Q4, Incurs $16.4 Million Charge

January 6, 2009 3:23 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - The McGraw-Hill Cos. (NYSE: MHP) said Tuesday it handed out pink slips to as many as 373 additional employees, mainly in its education segment in the fourth quarter, pushing up the total cuts in the fiscal year to 1,045 jobs.

The owner of the Standard & Poor's credit-rating service incurred a restructuring charge in the fourth quarter of 2008 of $26.3 million, pre-tax, consisting mostly of employee severance costs related to a workforce reduction across the Corporation.

"Our diverse portfolio of businesses and ongoing cost containment efforts have helped lessen the impact of challenging economic conditions in 2008," Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer of McGraw-Hill, said in a statement.

He added, "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."

The company said in the statement on Tuesday that the total restructuring charge after tax is $16.4 million, or $0.05 per share of fourth quarter 2008 earnings.

McGraw-Hill fired around 4.9 percent last year out of its 21,171 employees as of the end of 2007.

The education-publishing business slashed 215 positions, followed by 70 individuals were fired in information and media unit, 40 in the corporate segment and another 50 in financial services, including S&P unit.

The textbook publisher and financial-information provider said with the latest actions and the measures taken in the second and third quarters of 2008, the company will take restructuring charges for the full year of 2008 totaling $73.4 million, pre-tax, ($45.9 million after-tax) or $0.14 per share.