3M to cut 1,500 jobs as part of 'transformation journey'

Minnesota-based 3M announced Tuesday it is eliminating approximately 1,500 jobs in what the company says is the next step in its “transformation journey.” 

The company said it is restructuring as it moves to a new global operating model and streamlined organizational structure. 

According to a news release, 3M took a pre-tax restructuring charge of $134 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, but the company said it expects eliminating those 1,500 positions will lead to an annual pre-tax savings of $110 to $120 million, with $40-$50 million in 2020. 

3M also reported Tuesday that sales declined 1.9 percent to $32.1 billion in 2019. For the full year, the company said it paid $3.3 billion in cash dividends to shareholders and repurchased $1.4 billion of its own shares.