Thread regarding 3M layoffs

3M ws once a company that you could start and then finish at. If you got bored, wanted a change, etc. 3M was the place with its diversity of products, locations, global reach etc. so much to learn, so many opportunities. There is still lots of variety, but it is very different. As people have spoken about, there are tons of issues 3M has and the leadership team - for many many years… have been making wrong, short sided decisions. Today, leadership focus is 99 days at a time and adjust based on the P&L. Thus, it will continue to slide as nothing is in the pipeline . No product, incompetent leaders at all levels and the mcNight principles have been long gone.

With all that said, you just need to activate you me plan B, which is your next job. It could be at 3M, but likely outside. Like a previous responder said, build your LinkedIn network, make sure your profile is solid- look at others profiles and steel shamelessly best practices. Also, if you are just starting out in your career, it is likely you do not have many endorsements on your LinkedIn skills or many recommendations. Is this is so, start requesting them. Be thoughtful if who you ask, but as you complete a project or have done good team wins, don’t be afraid to ask your team, managers etc. if they would enforce you or write a recommendation on LinkedIn.

Being you have the time now (your employees and enjoying things), make sure the skills and key words in your profile and resume match jobs posted that you would be interested in.

Then even if you don’t start applying, start following your next or your top 10-15 target companies. In essence, make your I was just let go and now looking for a job “to do” list now and start getting it done.

Continue to stay positive and be a sponge as to learning. You can learn from everyone, it just might be that done things you want to use going forward and something’s you want yo avoid repeating.

Also, very important to manage your manager in the sense if they are not giving you hood direction, then you need to document what you think it is, your priorities, etc and then provide it to management. And a a previous poster said, you document in an email. A long long time ago, I had a peer that at the end of the week, they summarized it in an email to their boss. Not a long email, bullet format, but if you have a manager that is absent, not giving you good direction, by you communicating it, they should be quick to respond if they do not agree and if they do not respond, by default it is acceptance. Just cover your a-s, which means documenting. Also, at the end of the year when it is time for performance reviews, it will be a matter of did you accomplish what they asked you to do, fi they like you, you make management look good, good team player, etc. There will be nothing for working harder than someone else or putting in king hours/weekends etc. those days are gone. I am not saying to not out in more time, but 3M will let you working nights and weekends etc and at the end of the year, you and your coworker came in at 8:00 and left at 5:00 everyday and never worked a weekend will get the same performance review/increase. Find your balance and make it priority to maintain.

Lastly, if in a future round of layoffs (there will be more), you are effected, you will get peanuts for a severance. Thus, being prepared should be a priority. Even if you got a job offer, you can decline or just be more selective of your next job.

Good luck!

Everyone else has given really good advice- not much I can add. Not sure what BG/area you are in, and I’m not sure if my advice would be different if I knew. Keep your eyes open on the job market - it is easier to get a job when you have a job. Some advice for navigating internally - try to fly under the radar and do not work hard- in-fact do the bare minimum allowable for your job. Working hard will: get you more work to do; not get you a raise or promotion; get you the same performance review grade as someone who shows up to work and does the bare minimum.

It didn't use to be like this. But in the past 10 years, it has been like this with poor new employee onboarding (they attend the corporate onboarding program up to 9 months after starting with 3M), and managers just getting the new starter to shadow someone else, instead of focusing on the new employee.

If you have something else lined up and they have given you a job offer, don't feel bad if you want to go for it. If you don't have anything, stay on for up to 2 years to get the experience. If you can survive in this company, you will survive anywhere. But don't fall into the trap of not constantly keeping your ears open for other opportunities. Don't get Stockholm syndrome and fear leaving the company. The company doesn't owe you anything, so you shouldn't owe them. They will happily give you the chop when it is convenient for them.

I worked there for over 30 years before being laid off. I was chatting with an old friend that I used to work with and I was telling her about my new job. She pointed out something that I didn't even realize. She said "You are so happy and excited about your new job. I haven't heard you that happy about work in YEARS." Keep in mind, I'm at a new company figuring things out and working my a## off, but I'm happy. My boss is AMAZING. The benefits are better. It's actually FUN. I miss my old coworker friends, but those who care, we keep in touch. I miss the vacation time, but oh well. My sanity is more important and my new boss is quite awesome about letting me take off when needed knowing I've worked my butt off and doing an awesome job. Can you believe it.. somewhere where the appreciate you as a human being and care about work/life balance?!?! Amazing.

3M is falling apart at the seams. Run, don't walk.

The last 5 years has had a lot of turnover and change. The last 10 years had had several reorganizations as well. I would be surprised if OP’s job is the same as what was hired for (even in one year). This is too much change too often - not a company to stay at. Sorry if not what you wanted to hear, but most staying have enough to lose to grind it out until cut or retirement. Take it as a learning experience and you can still land at a good company (you got the 3M job after all) with enough time to get what you were hoping 3M still was. You have a good attitude and that can be a good thing if you find a company that equally values you

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Great advice. I would add to make sure to send a confirming email to your manager once he or she has provided you with details on your role and responsibilities and outlined his or her expectations. My manager keeps adding new responsibilities for me and shifts expectations constantly. My manager would throw me under the bus so be careful.

As someone who worked there for 25 years and was laid off I can tell you to leave as soon as possible. This is not the 3M of old that was once a great place to work. You will not be given projects that are supported with resources or support. My only advice in the meantime is to meet frequently with your current boss and get concrete definitions of what is your role, responsibilities and expectations. Make sure you give frequent updates to those above your direct manager ( copy on emails ) build your network from what’s left after all the lay offs - their may be a few people left behind that still know their stuff-

To the original post, there is lots of good advice in the follow ups to the original post. Summarizing others contributions

1. Follow a parallel path - your career is in your hands.
2. Network for sure - I use LinkedIn. Get to 500 followers, follow those in areas and companies you are interested in.
3. Build your skill sets in 3M. Ask for education support if available.
4. Look for a position which fits your skills and your career direction anywhere .
5. Use 2-3 years at 3M to build yourself up - look beyond that to the future.
6. Meet with any customer or company you may be interested in. Net work, learn and explore. You'll find folks love networking. Networking builds opportunity. Opportunity may lead to new position.
7. If 3M pans out, you'll be in a better position. If not, you are prepped and connected.

Two and out.

My advice:
3M, for now, still has a fairly solid reputation on the job market. That will change once the company continues it's decline to irrelevance. Get experience for 2 years and get ready to move on. Prep you resume now. Take advantage of the ambiguity of "who is doing what" to get a couple successful projects under your belt that nobody else wants, when the stakes are so low. It's not for them... it's for your future interviews...

I recommend you leave as soon as you find another job. If you explain the situation in a cover letter/email many recruiters will understand. Some recruiters may even respect you more for making a bold move.

The environment at 3M is toxic. You need to move if you can before the toxicity affects your health. I, too, have seen co-workers given too much to do after someone is laid off and then criticized a month later about not getting their work done. I have seen much worse in my 10 years at 3M, almost all of it within the past 3 years.

Good luck.

Some thoughts from a long time employee now retiree:

1. Absolutely enjoy and relish the interactions with good coworkers. This is a memory that will endure long past retirement.

2. Work hard 8 to 5 but shut it down nights and weekends. Your mental health is priceless. The old 3M appreciated and rewarded above and beyond effort. The GE driven 3M since mcnerney in 2000 is about making the big bosses look good.

3. Stay long enough to get skills and hope to get into healthco someday. It looks it has a future.

If you are young then I suggest you look for a better job elsewhere. 3M business is deteriorating and people who stay are typically waiting out for their retirement. I am one of them too. (25 years service here)

With remote workers, contract workers, and global service centers, the ability to retain and transfer knowledge is already gone. You’ve experienced the new 3M and probably heard of or expected the old 3M. The old 3M was as-----nated

In many cases, the answers and information are forever lost, gone with the person that left.

If you do really want to stay...
Have you signed up to NEON? It helps integrate new employees.
If you are a technical employee, get more involved in Tech Forum. Your network will be vital and getting people outside of your immediate division is critical.
Go looking around on Viva Engage/Yammer for communities that might interest you. Again, network is a vital lifeline in 3M.
Ultimately, do what is best for you. If no one is helping, and you are unable to find a place for yourself, don't stay at 3M too long or you'll get stuck!

It's been a long time since leaving a company before 3 years gave you a black mark, especially from a company with practically yearly layoffs.

Some people feel that a few young people are sacrificed during a layoff just so it looks like it wasn't intended to just get rid of older, expensive people. (Although, you do have to question why hire a young, inexperienced person instead of recalling one of the laid-off people who doesn't need to be trained.)

Keep looking. You can't fix this. There are a lot of people who worked hard and suddenly found themselves without a job. You won't get much of a severance package. Always be ready to leave on your own terms.

Some of it sounds like it could get a little better for you (second year tends to have more of a stride with that year of experience) plus it will look better on your resume to stay 2-3 years. I will be honest, having been here over 20 years, the culture is very different today, and it may make sense to take the experience and resume builder and move on; at least you will have another year or so to judge things that way. I’d say stick it out, then ask yourself the same question in a year.

I agree with Varys, stay for two years, get some experience, then leave.

This may be the most real and saddest post on this site. From someone with 20 years, I've seen a lot as I climbed through the lower ranks. What I've witnessed in the last 5 years has scared me on behalf of my career. I see good people breaking down because of bandwidth and being over worked. All my training since becoming salary has been "on the job" while fighting fire after fire. I've seen good people leave by choice or by force. I've seen that workload distributed to already overloaded individuals who were drowning. I come to work every day thinking that we'll turn a corner, and someone will break this cycle, but my faith, patients and mental sanity is running thin. You do sound like you care, and that's a great thing for 3M. There just won't be enough people around you to have the time to notice to make this a career and not just a job. Good luck to you and I hope that the Spin Off changes the course we've been going down the last 5 years or more. Good people like you deserve to be at a company that cares just as much back.

3M has been a very complex company for a very long time. Even in the 'good ol' days' it was not unheard of for a new employee to take 1or 2 years to get really proficient in all the language, tribal knowledge, and systems they need to be successful. Good front-line supervisors were critical to making this happen.

Your attitude to try and make things better is very admirable and will take you far in your career. Unfortunately as a new employee you are simply not in a position to help, the major problems today with 3M are sitting in the boardroom and the executive suites.

If you want my answer, try to tough it out for at least two years at 3M, then leave. Two years will prevent any 'black marks' for voluntarily leaving a company too fast. That said, if a significantly better opportunity shows up before the two years, take it. Also if you are in health care the SpinCo leadership is showing a few signs it might improve after the spin.

You sound like you care a great deal - trust your instincts

Run!!!!!

Honestly, I’d say leave while you are young. 3M is not a place to work a lifetime - it isn’t what it used to be, so the incentives to stay long term are very few. Years 2-40 probably won’t be much different and most knowledge has been leaving via cuts and retirements.