Thread regarding 3M layoffs

Two years ago I was on the doorstep of 35 years at 3M. My dept had been decimated globally over the previous 18 months so I knew the odds were stacked against me. My phone pinged late one night and I just knew I shouldn't check the message. Sure enough, at 5AM the next day I knew I had a mandatory meeting. My boss did everything he could to ease the blow. It was appreciated.

The next 4 months felt like a lifetime, but in reality it was a whirl. I was beyond lucky, and after coming in 2nd place for over a half dozen positions more aligned w/ my background, I found an opportunity in a stretch adjacent field. The past 18 months have been some of the most rewarding I've had in decades. I'm respected, appreciated, and people are actively seeking me out to collaborate. I'm valued, something I can't say I felt at 3M for many, many years.

My plan was to retire from 3M around 60-62. The bean counters obviously knew the numbers better than I did. I may have 8 or so years left in the workforce, but being somewhere you want to be everyday makes the time go by in a healthier, more rewarding way.

Part of the problem is that our current leadership ranks are full of people who were promoted to their own level of incompetence (and maybe even beyond).

A bunch of folks who are very convinced that the rank-and-file folks just need to buckle down and work harder, even though there's no carrot anymore and the stick has snapped from overuse.

Motivation is totally gone, and leaders can't understand that because they had one opportunity after another dropped in their lap.

It's a shame to think about where 3M is at now and where it once was. It truly was an exciting company to work for in the 80's, 90's and early 2000's. Although I commuted 45 minutes to and from work, I could not wait to get there. It seems like the opportunities would never end, loved my work, promoted every 4 years and had good working relationships with everyone I worked with that lasted my entire career. Managers that were truly there to help people grow and get a head. They took a real interest in you and your family. It's just really hard knowing what was will never be again.

Thanks for the reminder that I'm glad I'm gone too. It's been just over 2 years since I started my new job at a new company after 31 years with mother mining. It is so refreshing. Same pay, less stress, great bosses (2 in 2 years) and a treasure trove of opportunity. Leadership who is in the trenches with you, appreciates, acknowledges and supports you.

I miss the seeing the friends I made at 3M, but now most of them are gone too.

BB is old school in that he thinks employees worried a out their jobs will grudgingly work 50 plus hours a week to look good. Problem is: Mikey did the same for years and gobs of good workers still got laid off. Don't fall for the psyops. No more than 40 hours of week. If that. If you have a good boss (there are a few still around i hope) then do what's needed to make him or her look good. Otherwise, your boss can't fire everyone because he or she will have to do your job. A lousy vindictive boss will eventually get fired by one of BBs henchmen because your department metrics will be red.

What a disgusting ending to a once great corporation. Glad I'm retired

I definitely don't work a full 40 hours here at Mother M. But my salary isn't as high as it could be, either.

The bigger problem is that there's no opportunity for advancement at 3M. Leaders act like we all need to work together for the good of the company, but until that results in some good for me I'm just going through the motions.

2yrs since the dreaded meeting and my current company is a bit smaller, but so much more fun to go to work. Fun products to work on and great people. Sure, they have issues too, but nothing like 3M. The pay isn't as high, but the stress is low and most folks only work 40hrs a week.
So the question is - if you want higher pay, are you okay with the higher stress and constant fear of losing your job? No wrong answer, it is different for everyone.

Indeed 2nd anniversary is approaching! 2 decades in 3m, found new job super quickly after my position and department was eliminated in EMEA. Enjoying now different org culture and far more international environment than 3m ever will be. Life is too short to spend it complaining

The tragic thing is that the leaders, not the BB and tireman level, but the leaders who are 1st and 2nd level to most peons have become possessed. In the 80s and 90s, most leaders were helpful, caring, supportive, and anything but psyops.

What happened? I blame Mcnerney for starters. GE leaders are psyops. But it actually got worse under Inge and Mikey. Now BB is Minnesota Nasty. And his henchmen spread the nastiness.

What a shame and disgrace. This is 190 degree from McKnight principles.

I hope the people doing the bare minimum are using their extra time and energy to find new jobs. A job where you're valued, where you're learning, where you're excited about your work is a very good thing. I was let go from 3M (thought I was going to retire from there) and absolutely love my new job. Life is short -- enjoy your work.

I've been at 3m for over a decade.

I don't try hard anymore. I log in, chat through my day, do the bare minimum.

There's no incentive to succeed, or even do well. Until they recognize actual talent they don't get actual effort.

Sadly, we are living the inevitable downside of GE style management where Wall Street runs the company. CEOs are rock stars (in theory) for making "difficult" decisions like slashing 1000s of jobs. Research is a cost, not an investment. James McNerney brought the deadly plague with him. Then he nearly destroyed Boeing.

McKnight is greatly saddened with this trajectory into oblivion for a once Minnesota and global icon.

So glad I'm retired. It's depressing to see what's happened.