McGraw-Hill, owner of training providers Xebec McGraw-Hill, has announced that it intends to close its business training courseware operation as part of a major shake-up of its organisation in the wake of the recession and terrorist attacks in the US.

The restructuring, which will cost the company $159 million to implement, will see 5 per cent of McGraw-Hill's employees made redundant, including approximately 575 employees from within McGraw Hill Education, of which Xebec McGraw-Hill is a part, mostly from within its International unit and business training sectors.

Harold McGraw III, Chairman and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies said the moves were to enable the company to "..sharpen our focus on our core properties and major capabilities as we enter 2002." He added that the company still expected to see a growth in revenue of 8-10 per cent for 2001 - sales in the year 2000 were around the $4.3 billion mark.

McGraw-Hill Education says it will continue to publish materials for school and college-age students, but will call a halt to publishing in some international markets.

300 jobs will also go from within the company's Information and Media Services arm, with the restructuring also affecting the financial services and business information activities McGraw-Hill is involved in. No further information about the future of Xebec McGraw-Hill appears to be available on their website at this time.