I've enjoyed reading the posts from this site. I worked at 3M for 35 years only to be downsized in Q4 2015 because financial goals were not going to be met in Q1 2016. I thought it was a great company to work for back in 1981 when I started.
Work hard and play hard was the mantra. Tartan Park and Lakeside were alive with 3M employees on any given night. I was proud to work for such an ethical company that treated employees fairly, and safety & the environment were a priority. At least that's what I thought at the time. It was THE company to work for in the Twin Cities.
Most of the people I knew in Engineering regularly put in the hours needed to get the job done right. Sometimes that was 40 hours / week but it could be 50, 60, 70, even 80 during project installations. Not much complaining or push back at that time but maybe there should have been. I think employees felt more appreciated by their supervisors / managers and they were given challenging projects. It also had the feel of a company that would take care of you until you decided to retire and, of course, there was the defined benefit retirement plan.
Much changed when McNerney came on board. Some positive, but much of it was negative with Six Sigma and Black Belts becoming the so-called future of the company. As someone had said earlier, many good middle aged employees were passed over for these BB positions just because of their age. It wasn't even kept a secret. Some were simply told that they were too old. I was actually in a room when a senior manager told an employee exactly that. I was part of the class action lawsuit for age discrimination. Mid 30's was the sweet spot. BB's completed their two year assignment and were given huge promotions to positions (JG15-16) that, in many cases, they were not prepared for. Chaos ensued.
Relationships / teamwork started to take a back seat to the bottom line. HR no longer represented the employee but now protected the company by any means possible. Diversity and inclusion were stressed for promotions at the expense of more qualified employees. Performance appraisals had to "fit" a certain curve depending on business results and there had to be a certain number / percentage that were rated 1 or 2 on a scale of 5. There was no exceptions to this rule. I could barely stomach the process when HR told the managers we would have to "give some people up" and change their rating from a 3 to a 2 to fit the rule. I made my feelings known (unfortunately in an ill-advised e-mail) and I was subsequently given a rating of 2 in two different leadership qualities and was told I was lucky that it wasn't worse.
Now it's all about the bean counters and the stock price & shareholders. Most investors that haven't sold yet are still in love with the dividends that 3M keeps churning out. Otherwise the stock price has been abysmal for the last 6-7 years. I'm not sure why the current CEO is allowed to hold his job with these type of results. Given the billions that will be paid out in future lawsuits for PFAS and ear plugs, 3M is doing what they can to free up money.
I fear 3M will not come out on the other side. RIP 3M but not until you clean up the global mess that you are directly responsible for. Watch the movie "Dark Waters". Mostly about DuPont but 3M is also part of the storyline.
This deserved its own post. OP is @1dpf+1kvY6pdz.