Thread regarding Solventum layoffs

I left from HIS in 2023 and sadly have to say I made the right choice. I wasn’t comfortable with the complete lack of transparency on the spinoff I worked with so many great people and is still my favorite job.@b1

@2f1 half-baked solutions. After much promise, Bryan has proven to be such a CEO. Nothing sticks anymore. He may have had ideas for growth but decided instead to focus on cutting his way to prosperity. It's not his fault that Mike at 3M saddled him with something like 7 billion in debt. But it's still at 5 even after selling the most obvious business in Filtration.

The townhalls have been like going the dentist and getting more fillings and an occasional root canal when you thought it was going to be a easy day with just tooth cleaning and leaving with shiny teeth.

Bryan giving such corporate gobblygook canned answers when asked about ANOTHER round of Christmas layoffs and then justifying hiring pricy VPs like Destroyer of Buffets who've already eaten through profits and that led to crashing stock prices just buries him into further in eyes of employees.

He will leave in about 3 or 4 years, over 100 million richer, and a legacy of a carved out once promising HC spin.

@2f7 even Wall Street isn't listening to such savings claims being reinvested in growth any more. At least not at Solventum. So many companies claimed SAP would save the farm when all it did was feed some very expensive "seasonal workers" (McKinsey, Accenture, etc.) Who left behind an 80 percent completed million piece puzzle that companies have no money left to fund.

SAP made so much money it is/was sponsoring golfers at 3M Invitational. When I saw those shirts on TV, it made me laugh thinking how much Inge and Roman blew on this boondoggle. And then Mike couldn't even find someone to pay 15 million for Wonewok.

But those two guys don't have to worry about paying the heating bills this winter.

@2f1 For what it's worth, I read it as spending $500M to save $500M/year (vs the other way). I agree it's unclear how -- what is the spend on, how will we save?

This post is relevant: https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1k9g0v7ss

In the end, who knows what 3M spent on SAP, and 2015-2017 were publicly promising $500M/year savings. Then they just stopped talking about ERP savings in annual reports. They surely did not achieve what they said, or they would have shouted it from the rooftops. https://www.reuters.com/article/business/3m-co-says-expects-annual-savings-of-500-mln-to-700-mln-by-2020-idUSFWN1OC0DT/

Point being, one hypothesis is Solventum is trying to leverage publicity on stuff it's already doing. They were already going to roll out SAP, so we can cite the spend on that as an "investment in our future" and part of the "playbook." Then we can do any number of fancy calculations to claim efficiency boosts and savings, maybe making up the balance with layoffs.

Just guessing.

Well they did publish they were going to make $500 million in savings to be able to invest $500 million. I would suspect one comes long before the other. To make $500 million in savings from a 20,000 person company is a tough one.

At an average burn rate of 150,000 per employee and to cover layoff expenses, that would be about another 3,500 people to go, or a savings of over $25,000 per employee.

If the savings are achieved by off shoring, then the net loss of employees in the US will be far higher than that in order cover new off shore hiring.

The disruption alone to the customer experience from large scale layoffs will be large and may well hamper the nirvana of attracting all the new customers.

How this evolves over the near future will determine if this is a company reinventing itself, or one in a slow sad decline as evermore half baked solutions are proposed. You aren’t going to grow a company without new products and by supporting your existing products to be the cash cow. Large scale staff reductions aren’t going to realistically achieve either, the worst of both worlds, loss of exiting customers and no attraction of new ones.

Solventum is caught in that public company quarterly results trap, which really prevents the injection of new capital with returns that are a few years out. It’s symptomatic of all but the really large players that have huge cash flow positives to spend, or the startups that have little expectation of any returns. Solventum is in that mid size public company trap.

For the HIS division it is problematic, competition is EPIC is, a private company, and Cerna is part of the Oracle giant. Other competitors are startups and new phase companies, pre IPO.

@b1

With hindsight, of course we wish that we did not get moved to SOLV. For most of us OUS, we did not have a choice. We were identified and moved. By the time we were informed, there was no avenue to return to 3M.

The sad part is that many of us fell for Hanson's charisma. But after all that has been lifted and us seeing the truth, we gained valuable wisdom in that a smooth talker is usually a liar.

So yes, there is regret, but we have grown as a result of Hanson's clear approach to destroy 3M Healthcare.

@fd
Well, if you moved with momentum backwards, that would be silly, wouldn't it?

Whatever you believe, good luck. I don't hate you, nor wish you the worst. But every word that has come out of Hanson's mouth has been a lie. So I hope you are mature enough to make your own decision and judgement of the words that come out of the C-suite's mouths.

@12x Bryan lost any respect and trust when he got his armed twisted off by the yacht club guy and laid off scores last December. A real leader defends his organization from outside threats and charts a growth path with boldness.

Given his propensity for hiring his rich friends who failed at other companies and his lack of a plan to pay down more debt now that Filtration has been unloaded, no chance we see anything but more layoffs, no dividend for years if ever, and more aimless townhalls.

Heck bring in Tireman just for the laughs.

@b1 "Still feel like you made the right choice given the benefit of hindsight?"

No, I feel stupid. I admit I fell for his speech at the "meet the CEO" first talk he gave. I thought Roman was empty and uninspiring and running 3M into the ground. The only lever to pull was layoffs. Bryan was far more inspiring, and when I started exploring, it was late enough I saw respected colleagues there with good things to say.

I feel depressed about it... it's the same place, perhaps worse as I don't think BH has blossomed into his full potential yet based on more and more that he does and that I read about his historic track record elsewhere.

@OP if cousin Eddie is picking up the DoorDash delivery at the guard shack for Heather, he'll probably eat more than a few fries and boneless wings before delivering the meal.

@fd Not only are your comments insensitive, Thislop, but they are extremely offensive to all those who lost their job due to the incompetence of the Executive Team. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid you are being fed. Karma is a funny thing. I hope you're next to go.

@n2 hislop got his start under Jack Welchs GE. Go figure. Nine years there and that made him the piece of work he is today. As the old saying goes: as the twig is bent so grows the tree.

Maybe Bryan is grooming him to be CEO of one of the divisions to be spun off during the Solventum Way to oblivion.

Hislop you are one nasty little bald man.

I want some of whatever you're smoking, Thislop.

I took voluntary redundancy before 3M became Solventum. I struggled with the European Leadership big time and I couldn’t wait to see what BH would do, I was lucky to find another position very quickly, I loved my team and job but reading about the current situation makes me so sad for my ex colleagues and previous customers..

Bryan, you put it in the wrong hole. Ouch

Well after laying off some folks, Solventum saved up a few bucks to make the first new acquisition of Acera Surgical. I am so happy to be a part of this fantastic organization under Brian’s great leadership. Too all those that have be laid off, thank you for your sacrifice so Solventum can move with momentum forward.

@dz thank you for writing this. All employees can add value. Older employees with experience can help keep existing customers while also coaching younger employees on the fine arts of business.

Younger employees can bring an enthusiasm to the job that lifts the workplace to strive for better results.

The fact that Bryan Hanson has clearly altered his tone and approach toward all of us since late 2024 when Nelson Peltz cannot be glossed over.

The company had such great promise when spun from 3M. I read the white paper and am appalled that we didnt have a true CEO who had the guts to tell the old man on the yacht to pound sand. Play the long game Bryan! You could easily have waited out a guy who may be out for lunch permanently in a few years. You could have been this company's McKnight had you simply shown a backbone and launched a growth program. The 40 million you took unethically to appease the old man on the yacht? You can't take it with you. Nor can you pretend to have a full head of hair.

Yes, this is personal. Many people who deserved to finish out their careers and retire with full pensions have been sc--wed. And stop trying to deflect the attention away from Peltz. He is clearly running the company, not Bryan. Speak truth to power. The layoffs are on the yacht guy but Bryan is like the hooded guy running the guillotine. Just a grossly overpaid pawn.

Like many have posted here. The layoffs will be copious, perhaps monthly just below the WARN act threshold. Until a real man steps up as CEO.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Who is going to put food on our table and pay our bills….it will not be the younger generation that is for sure.

Telling a teammate to retire and walk the grandchildren is just an unlogical way of thinking. They’re your children and your responsibility to raise not your parents.

Being in the layoff pool of reorganization between 50’s and 60’s is a form of discrimination and harassment. You as a manager organized team meetings with the younger teammates and excluded the ones who were over 50’s and 60’s who were your high performing sales reps in the territory was nothing more than a plan to eliminate them. Watch the territory sales drop and you will be next in line for the pink slip. When wolves in sheep clothing show their true colors and show favoritism just remember you all will suffer.

Young people you will play the corporate game and drink the kook-aid but you lost the value, knowledge, and expertise of a seasoned employee.

We may be the older generation but we are the wiser and the company will suffer. Solventum you did not think this out and your scripted town halls and meetings are nothing but pure unethical, puppets on a string to be under dictatorship to Brian Hanson and make your hefty salary. Did you sign a non-disclosure as well?

Better be ready for what is to come! You can have your Thanksgiving and Christmas while laid off employees are emotionally and financially trying to figure out how to make ends meet.

@ct He's actually 83 and has done more damage to his acquisitions but somehow got out before the implosion and made money.

This is from his White Paper just 10 months ago.

"If Solventum Can Restore Performance to Historical Levels, Trian Believes the Company’s Shares Could be Worth $140 by Year-End 2027 vs. its $69 Share Price Today"

https://trianpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-01-08-SOLV-Shareholder-Letter-Release.pdf

This stock will never see even $100.

And yes, it's OK to complain about bringing up Peltz in many posts, but read the White Paper and you will see who is the driving force behind these layoffs - it's not the 40 million dollar man. I can say from personal experience that layoffs are very personal. When a guy who should be enjoying his yacht, using his returns on investment to golf, fish, entertain friends instead writes a White Letter basically saying to break up the company and implies "operational efficiencies" can be improved (translated = layoffs). SO sorry if the yacht guy is salt in the wounds to many of us who've left or seen dear loyal colleagues get dumped with no appreciable stock price gain. Bryan's messaging has clearly gotten more employee-hostile since the billionaire took and interest in the company. If he's be willing to work for $1 and lots of stock options like Lee Iacocca, we might feel more positive about him.

Have a nice day!

Bryan is proving to be another Mike Roman who couldn't grow the company and decided the only way forward was perpetual layoffs.

Dear Mr. Hairplugs. You have destroyed peoples lives. 40 million dollars and you can’t fix your baked bean teeth. You are a weasel not a leader or visionary. You are a pathetic excuse for a human being doing the dirty work of an 80 year old sitting on his yacht without any care in the world as long as you and your friends and family get in on the action. Why has nobody formed a union or filed a class action lawsuit against this company and the criminal behavior they have portrayed towards their very own that they clearly do not value.

Who is hairplugs and why is everyone conceded about more layoffs. I don’t understand, they just had a round of layoffs, everyone should be fine. Besides we’re not here to make money we are here to make friends.

Honestly, I appreciate this forum but the one person who continues to spout about Nelson Putz and his yacht is getting old. Every other comment is from the same person spewing Nelson this/Bryan Hansen $40 million salary hair plugs that. We get it. We are here for information regarding layoffs. We are on the same side, but we are looking for relevant information, not the same regurgitated lines over and over.

@ca ever since 3M bought KCI, it has been a downward spiral. All because Michael delvacchio wanted revenge on KCI for letting him go.

It's so sad. We were so proud of the work we did in healthcare while part of 3M. In less than 2 years, it feels we lost so much. And for what? For Bryan Hanson to make $40 million by laying us off.

My recommendation. Use the corporate card along with all the company resources you can before this ship sinks.

@ah Bryan is like a 3 card monte dealer. At first, his fake hairdo and Botox fooled the masses, making people think the SOLV would be a far better choice than staying at 3M. But after a few more deals from the bottle of the deck, everyone but the fools who clapped at Tiremans townhalls realized what a empty suit he was.

As someone else said, future townhalls are going to be tightly scripted. Probably bring in a customer oozing over the transformation Bryan is undertaking. While other customers head for the exits in disgust of skimpy customer service.

The brave guy who mentioned he is not yet a VP has Probably been scolded if not fired. Bryan was made to look like the clueless fool that he really is. He could easily live off 10 million and use the other 30 million to keep around productive employees.

His next trick is going to be skimpy raises next year. How else can you afford Heather and the T&E budget. All in the name of transformation. Solventum Way is leading to thousands of starving ex-employees in the same way that Maos Five Year plans feed China.

I'd be curious to hear from those who left MMM voluntarily and thought they were headed toward the promised land of SOLV. Still feel like you made the right choice given the benefit of hindsight?

I feel like Bryan is the distraction clown. As in, "Hey, look over here at this shiny balloon and just keep working as usual".... while he simultaneously leads the herd to sla-ghter by layoffs and auctioning off the company bit by bit.