The recent layoffs have largely left the redundant management structure in 3M mostly unscathed. This has been true of layoffs since 2008. Technical people canned in huge nos. while management left untouched.
Career progressions also work the same way. In management, usually it is a function of time...work in a position for a while and almost without fail...here comes the coveted promotion ( depending on how good one is in pleasing his / her boss). For technical folks, promotion is super hard to come by...since the promotion criteria goes up every year and is like a moving target and becomes almost impossible after a certain level. These technical employees then become prime targets for layoffs when they reach a certain age.
This also forces some technical folks to move to M positions after a while even though they are not up to the task. Meanwhile many younger folks have already realized this fact that M positions are the only way to get meaningful promotions and are leaving in droves. Just look at current attrition levels in 3M for folks who joined after 2010!!!
Numerous management levels remain irrelevant to this day. Many technical managers, lab managers with zero to a few ditect reports are on company books. The latest restructuring has created even more management positions.
Even in a struggling division like aerospace and automotive, there are many middle managers with 3 to 4 or even zero direct reports. Some are on * special * projects...doing google searches on latest and greatest projects to work on for the company and presenting them to C suite. How absurd is that!!! Hard to believe in economic conditions like this where 3M delivered a * blockbuster * minus 13 % * growth * in q2, 2020. How many people do you need for making irrelevant PowerPoint slides and organize meetings and report summary of results to their upper managers???
It is truly a celebration of mediocrity and sychophancy in 3M these days. It is on a terminal decline...many technical folks feel that way....and so does the stock market