3M is laying off 2,500 industrial employees worldwide due to the faltering economy

Industrial giant 3M is joining the wave of mass layoffs, which have so far affected mainly technology companies. The American company, headquartered in Maplewood, Minnesota, on Tuesday announced the layoffs of 2,500 industrial workers worldwide. It’s the largest downsizing the company, which has about 95,000 employees, has done in more than a decade.

“We expect macroeconomic challenges to continue through 2023,” the company’s president and CEO, Mike Roman, said in a statement. Our goal is to implement the actions we started in 2022 and deliver the best performance for customers and shareholders. And based on what we see in our end markets, we will reduce approximately 2,500 global manufacturing centers, which is a necessary decision to align with revised production volumes.”

Manufacturer of Post-it Notes and many consumer and industrial products Notified to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Which will require pretax charges of $75 million to $100 million in the first quarter of 2023 for restructuring costs associated with downsizing.

The company announced its annual results, which reflect a decline in revenues due to a strong dollar and slowing demand. Declines in consumer markets accelerated in December, along with a significant slowdown in China due to shocks related to the coronavirus. “As demand weakened, we adjusted production and controlled costs, which allowed us to improve inventory levels,” says the company.

In the fourth quarter of the year, the turnover declined by 6.2%, to reach $8,079 million (about 7,435 million euros at the current exchange rate), and in 2022 it fell by 3.2%, to $34,229 million.

Net profit fell 60% in the fourth quarter to $541 million, due in part to unusual charges for shutting down production. perfluoroalkyl (PFAS), A group of chemical agents that do not degrade and can accumulate over time with adverse effects on human health. And because of this collapse in profits in the fourth quarter, the result also fell for the full year (2.4%, up to 5777 million).

For the year to begin, the company expects sales to decline by 2% to 6%. Added to weaker demand in general is the impact of Russia’s withdrawal, lower production of disposable masks, the impact of exchange rates and some divestment operations. The company also expects a decline in adjusted earnings per share of approximately 10%.