Thread regarding 3M layoffs

@OP mo--nic

@zs

agreed. I even knew of a person who came in as a T3 (new PhD) and retired as a T3. Always met expectations, never exceeded, so stayed where they were.

@10k

Certainly agree with the six sigma BB and MBB effect. Many (undeserved) promotions this way.

As for the nepotism claim. Really? Must have been happening just recently (last few years), which is certainly possible given the recent leadership. I can't recall any significant stuff like that happening during my time there.

Youre crazy. 3M has been one of the biggest examples of nepotism and favoritism in terms of career growth i have ever seen. How many cases are there of a vp’s nephew getting regular promotions or an execs son or family member becoming a vp? Too many to count!

@zs agreed. I was a people leader for a while and never had anything automated where I went to the employee and promoted them based on a time table.

Prior to Mcnerney corrupting HR and turning them into henchmen promoting his own personal follies, HR was helpful when a leader initiated a conversation on a potential promotion. These conversations started between a leader and an employee who had grown enough in the job to merit a promotion. But the employee needed to initiate this conversation.

Most people could count on about two of these promotions early in their career. But after that, it was almost always an employee taking another role with bigger responsibilities to get a promotion.

Mcnerney messed with the process by making Sick Sigma the vehicle and used this to promote people who were BB or MBB and took a another role after 6S. I know of several situations where the former person in the role was a lower job grade and the 6S belt took over promoted one or even two job grades higher just because 6S was distorted to promote Jimbo disciples. Witness Mike and Brad.

The only real promotions these days are BB external hires who get gifted with a much higher paying job than they left elsewhere. Cronyism has its perks.

@p8 Not true at all. 3M has NEVER given promotions based on time. There are people who have been here 30 years and never gotten a pay grade increase. My experience, you have to ask, and the submit a document justifying it - and it's been that way the whole time.

Very soon all this will be just a memory. AI will replace most of the jobs no matter who you are. Enjoy the last years of corporate America.

The option to go to portfolio 2 was introduced in the early 2000's.
Pension stopped for new emplyees/returning employees all together in 2010, when it moved to the 401 model.

Regarding “what does portfolio 1 mean?”

It’s an old school retirement pension calculated by formulas using age, years of service, and income. Payable by either monthly annuity or lump sum, retiree’s choice. Somewhere in the early ( 90’s?) portfolio 1 was replaced with portfolio 2 for new hires. Portfolio 2 was a hybrid of reduced annuity/ lump sum plus an enhanced 401k contribution. Sometime later the pension went away and was replaced with full enhanced 401k contribution.

@pp sorry as a Portfolio 1 retiree from 2021, I can say very few people were retired on the job and just clocking away. YES people did want to stay on till 55 (full pension) or till 91 or 92 points (one of those two got retiree medical bridge support till medicare). Why not? When people joined this once fabulous company in the 1980s, pensions and retiree medical were staples at a company that didnt pay as much as other big boys like Dupont and Exxon.

People traded more short-term income for long-term security (job and retirement). It created a very loyal and dedicated and productive workforce.

Most Portfolio 1 retirees I know are grateful for being able to retire in good health and with some of what was promised. 3M has sc--wed people with pithy retirement medical premium support. But these retirees also lament what has happened to people like you who deserved what we got.

Dweebs like Mcnerney came in an worshiped at the altar of Wall Street and quarterly earnings vs long-term growth.

As for the OP, I recall a coworker taking his kids treating on Halloween 1991. By 7 pm most people had given up treating and his kids were getting gobs of candy at each house. They had candy until the Black Friday storm added another foot or two of white stuff.

Cheers! Time for a good beer.

@pp what does Portfolio I mean?

@pj

To suggest that there aren’t Portfolio I 3Mers barely hanging on so they can ‘make their numbers’ is disingenuous. There are LOTS of them and most of them have no problem admitting it to a person outside their reporting chain. Sorry if it hurts to hear but it’s true.

@p8

blah, blah, blah.... always the same cr-p from some people.

No, promotions were not based on time-in-grade, except being a minimum time required. Allowing for a few exceptions, people didn't get promoted just based on time.

And many of the Portfolio 1 people ARE extremely talented. No matter what age group, there are talented folks and ones less so. Just because someone is older does not mean they are less talented. In fact, one could argue they can develop and commercialize products better than less experienced employees.

Saying someone is less talented because they are older is appalling. Shame on you.

Portfolio I employees aren't the enemy, but the reality is that they ARE taking spaces that a more driven or talented employee should have.

They were working at 3M at a time when promotions were a function of years of service.

So now we have a bunch of people in the teen job grades -- some of whom have risen to their level of incompetence -- who aren't ready to retire, telling their employees that we shouldn't expect promotions as a reward for good work, and that they can't give out any promotions this year because that requires CoC approval.

@j3 If you don't care, I don't care.
3M Embraced this idealogy when they started walking back LTI, performance ratings, vertical movement, etc...
3M just didn't realize how much the send half of the equation would impact performance...

@j3 How many dedicated long-time 3Mers met lifelong friends and futures spouses at a 3M sponsored event at Tartan in the 80s and 90s? The place had an aura for innovation, productivity, and financial successes when people are ALL IN and the company reciprocates.

Jim McNerney brought in the GE plague and poisoned the culture with his quarterly earnings mindset - vs. the long-term growth of 5-7% per year. But Jimbo wanted to promote wart cream and HighJump software.

Just glad I got out before the plague became terminal and (sadly) 3M is heading to be garage sales under BB so he can keep his yacht and maybe buy another.

As for the HW storm, the Campus was reportedly a ghost town other than Desi and the people who skied to work. Had a great breakfast at home while being paid by a venerable corporation on a Free Friday.

@hd
I fall into the 80s and 90s (and on) group that was dedicated to 3M (see below for the dedication of the guy who skied in to work that Oct 31). And in part that's because 3M was dedicated to us. Sure, there were issues, but overall, employees and the company were there for each. But loyalty has to go both ways, and with the constant erosion of benefits/trust, it's no wonder that this dedication is vanishing. And it's painful to see this happen to a company I loved working for most of the time. That "specialness" is gone. It's just another company now, I fear.

@hd thank you for posting this. As a portfolio 1 person I can say that people who joined this company in the 80s and 90s were incredibly dedicated employees who fiercely believed in loyalty to the company in return for nice pensions and retiree medical.

It's a tragic scene these days that pensions and retiree medical got sacrificed at the alter of Wall Street Greed.

The sad stories of many people who were jettisoned just short of age 55 (when pensions would be more lucrative and accessible before age 65) and the retiree bridge support (91 or 92 points i don't remember) during the Roman years showed a disdain for older workers that has nothing to do with the great 3M of the 20th century.

Divide and conquer is exactly what BB wants. He wants to hire more cronies and then find more ways to take back from existing employees and retirees. Recall the note earlier from someone whose retiree medical annual allowances are being capped at a low percent. While legal, this is immoral and not reflective of what a great company would do.

Remember the enemy isn't a P1 employee or retiree. Nor the new hires. It's Wall Street.

The vile sentiment directed towards the long-standing employees of this company is very concerning, but nothing new. It is extremely difficult to see the lack of appreciation for the decades of dedication and effort these "portfolio 1 people" have invested in building and sustaining 3M's success.
The disparity in retirement benefits between the different portfolios is a significant issue. Specifically, breaking the promise of a pension plan, after more than 30 years of service. The "portfolio 1" hate when they were the ones that were sc--wed over the worst is so baffling, you have to know that one day this will happen to you as well. The other portfolios received more favorable 401k matching contributions. So not only do "Portfolio 1 people" receive the brunt of the hate but they are also doing this after promises were broken and without the added benefits that the newer employees are receiving. The pension is just one of many benefits that were taken away from the loyal and dedicated employees. Additional matches to 401k contributions that are not portfolio 1, extra vacation time, extra parental leave time, and increases in salary that are far more advanced than I have ever received in my career, just to name a few.
Furthermore, a perceived systemic bias against senior employees has been apparent for many years. It raises questions about the future prospects of mid-career individuals who will be RIF'd later in their careers. The challenges associated with securing new employment at this stage of life should not be underestimated. You know what they say about kharma... Have fun with that in 20 years.
To be clear ... All of this is exactly what the "top leaders" want ... employees fighting with each other so they don't realize they are all in the same sinking ship.

@ck I remember some officials complaining about some other chemical contaminant and how people were dying every day from its exposure.

To which, a medical doctor who was concerned about the chemical but not alarmist, asked the question. If this is so toxic, where are the bodies?

The PFAS and PFOS concerns of long-term exposure are legit to a point. It doesn't break down and does bioaccumulate. But other than a few cases (not the millions who died of asbestos and nicotine) how many people have died from this stuff.

3Ms health officials under Desi were more concerned about bioaccumulation and impact on pregnancy. Not on the horrors being propagated by the media. Even pregnancy people are told to abstain from alcohol, caffeine etc.

The Trump administration doesn't seem concerned. Why would anyone else be?

Save the nostalgia for yourself. If want to focus on dates here are some more. Nearly 6 years after the Twin Cities snow day Red Cross blood testing results came back in 1997 showing that 3M’s PFAS was in the blood of every man, woman and child in the US. 3 years after that 3M announced the phase out of long chain PFAS in 2000. Under venerated Desi’s watch and decision making 3M chose to switch to short chain garbage for the next quarter century until 2025 rather than having the courage to fully exit. This type “leadership” ensured that the next generation of 3Mers would be subjected to serial layoffs and reorgs, peeling away of benefits and perks, the dismantling of the company and the lack of investment in anything over decades as the company mortgaged its future to pay PFAS settlements through 2036, nearly 45 years after the big snow day.

But hey, you’re Portfolo I, so what does it matter right? As long as you got yours.

@OP

If you recall, it also snowed several feet on Thanksgiving too.

@OP

I remember that day well.....except I think it was 3 feet of snow! I got out my snowblower to get a head start in the evening since the snow was piling up already. I got 5 feet down my driveway....when I su-ked up the dog chain into the auger and impeller! Spent the next few hours hacksawing it out so I could use the snowblower. But it worked fine even after that. A Toro, built like a tank.

It turned out that a senior scientist in the lab actually cross country skied into work in building 201 that day. Talk about commitment!

Forgot to mention that year (1991) was very tough for layoffs but I don't remember 3M laying off people that year. Some early retirement incentive offers perhaps. But nothing like what started under Mcnerney and will be picking up soon under BB once he gets angry that not many people quit their jobs because of RTO.