3M Layoffs: 6,000 workers cut amid slowing demand

As demand for manufactured goods continues to cool ahead of a potential recession, 3M is significantly reducing its total workforce for the second time this year.

In its Q1 2023 earnings release on April 25, the manufacturing giant announced that it will eliminate approximately 6,000 jobs in an effort to make itself “stronger, leaner, and more focused.”

“The structural reorganization will reduce the size of the corporate centre of the company, simplify supply chain, streamline 3M’s geographic footprint, reduce layers of management, and further align business go-to-market models to customers,” the release reads.

The latest reduction comes just months after the company cut around 2,500 manufacturing jobs in January.

3M added that it expects total pre-tax charges of $700-million to $900-million as a result of its recent restructuring actions.

According to reports, the company employed a total workforce of around 95,000 people at the end of January.

Impact on Canadian Staff

While 3M didn’t disclose how many staff members in Canada are affected by the latest round of cuts, the company said the restructuring is expected to affect “all functions, businesses, and geographies.”

In addition to its Canadian headquarters in London, Ontario, the manufacturing giant has more than 20 locations across the country.

According to LinkedIn, 3M employs more than 1,700 people in Canada.

Major layoffs continue

3M joins the growing list of major North American companies that have announced sweeping layoffs in 2023.

Several big names, including Lyft, BuzzFeed, Meta, Amazon, Accenture, Alphabet, Clearco, and Microsoft, are significantly scaling back their staffing levels as they continue to navigate challenging economic conditions.

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• McDonald’s tells corporate staff to work remotely ahead of layoffs
• Hudson’s Bay laying off 2% of staff, realigning ‘strategic priorities’
• Layoffs in Canada

Termination agreements for 3M employees

In Canada, non-unionized employees and senior executives at 3M are owed full severance pay when they lose their jobs due to downsizing or corporate restructuring.

This includes individuals working full-time, part-time, or hourly in Ontario, Alberta, and B.C.

Severance can be as much as 24 months’ pay, depending on a number of factors.

LEARN MORE
• Severance packages in mass layoffs
• Rights to severance for provincially regulated employees
• Severance pay in a recession 

WATCH: Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru explains what rights employees have if they are being fired or let go on an episode of the Employment Law Show.

Before you accept any severance offer, have an experienced employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP review it and your employment contract.

We can tell you if what you have been provided is fair and how to get proper compensation if it falls short of what you are actually owed.

If you aren’t given the full amount, which happens often, you have been wrongfully dismissed and are entitled to compensation.