Thread regarding 3M layoffs

I joined 3M manufacturing since 1998. Those were one of the best time. It was still under Desi. Things got worse once they started external source CEO. I am glad I am coming to end of my career.

3M was great when I started in the early 2000s. It still had that innovation magic and was very much an aspirational place to work, at least for someone my age who knew and respected 3M. There was career growth, groups were expanding or being built out, and real recognition actually existed. We all WANTED to be part of it, to contribute, and to succeed. There was excitement and energy that’s hard to describe but was very real.

The nosedive started with McN and never really recovered in my opinion. Buckley really did get it, and tried hard to “dynamite the logjam” as he always called it. But it wasn’t enough (poison injected too deep is a great descriptor) and just got worse after him.

Now we’re left with half-empty buildings and a literally crumbling campus. Kind of like how it feels emotionally around 3M these days. Half-empty souls working a crumbling career.

@wd Oof, that's a lot of projection.

@wd
TRUTH!!!

One controls their own destiny. Staying somewhere that is toxic is on the person who stays. Not like you need a restraining order from 3M because they are as--ulting you.

Heck, QuikTrip down the road is hiring. $20.00 an hour for overnight. $26.00 for manager. They actual treat their people pretty well. Incentive programs and bonuses available. Pays the bills until you can get on your feet at another company that will mine your natural resources and sp-t you out for their own gain.
Or isn't a job at Kwik Trip good enough because you have ran up your expenses past what you can cover?
Are you one who has a work from home job?
What do you do that is so special that you can only do it at 3M?
If you have a desk job and you work from home, what does that really contribute to the world?
Are you actually creating something?
Hands-on inventing the next best thing?
Experimenting and toiling and waking up in the middle of the night with aspirations?
Probably not.
If you have actual talent that is needed, get going. Don't waste another minute here.
Most whiners on this forum will be whining on their next employers The LayOff page anyway.

If you have an advanced degree in STEM and would like to do innovative work, this is not the place. In a few years you will be dissapointed. Risk taking, bringing fresh bold ideas to the table will not advance your career in 3M these days. You are better off joining the management ranks and spend the better of your days making power point slides, mind maps, strategic plans and of course making sure higher ups are happy ! Welcome to the new 3M.

Buckley did get it and threw out the slimy consultants and increased investments for the future. Unfortunately Mcnerny’s poison was injected far too deep to eliminate. The toxic environment stayed.

@m4

Agreed. McN was a financial guy and just didn't get the concept of 3M innovation-driven growth. Just wanted to run the company on $ numbers. Buckley got it, though, and helped us recover somewhat.

@m0, it’s Mcnernyism set in like a very deep incurable cancer. Pretty sad.

So, I retired from 3M a few years ago after >30 yrs. It was indeed a great place to work for most of that time. No place is perfect and a few years were unpleasant, but overall, I have only a few complaints. 3M put my kids through college, covered high medical bills for a medical crisis for one of them, supported me through some challenging times. It gave me the opportunity to have many different careers and roles without having to change companies. And we worked on some great projects.

But I saw the good leadership fade away in the recent years and it seems like it's taken a dive into the toilet more recently. I feel bad for those who are stuck with the environment the current (and previous) leadership team have unfortunately created. Must be miserable for many. I wish you all were able to experience the much better environment we had in the past.

Not at all! Your bad experience is yours. Don’t make it mine.

I have coming to 30 years of service and I have seen the best of 3M deteriorating to the current sad state. Totally demolished the employees morale and no wonder people are no longer engaged. Stop doing the employee pulse survey and quarterly conversations. They dont work !!

I don't regret it. I used to like my job; I had a great boss, great co-workers, interesting stuff to do.

But I hate the job I have now. I need out, ASAP.

3M’s toxic reputation is well known throughout the Twin Cities and beyond. I found this out as I too am job hunting to escape this hazardous to your health toxic cesspool of a company. Run away!

I really regret joining 3M. Recently I was asked by someone applying for a job at 3M for information on the 3M culture. I told this person I did not feel comfortable responding but should have been honest with them. I was scared to tell the truth.

Joining 3M, once upon a long time ago, was one of the best decisions of my life.

Leaving 3M was also one of the best decisions of my life.

Could I recommend 3M today? He-l no. The management consultants have won, and the leftover ruins of what was once 3M is no longer a good place to be.

I have retired but I do regret joining 3M despite having multiple offers after advanced degree. I was laid off mid career at which time I should have left. Instead I got offered a very nice position in a different part of the company that tempted me to stay

Everyday….every single day.