3M Co said on Tuesday it would cut 2,500 manufacturing jobs after reporting a lower profit, as the U.S. industrial conglomerate faces a demand slowdown in its unit that sells products including notebooks, air purifiers and respirators.
A softer-than-expected consumer spending amid inflationary pressures has eaten into the sales of 3M’s consumer unit which generated about $5.30 billion in revenue in 2022.
Additionally, a cut back from U.S. retailers dealing with elevated inventory levels also dampened demand.
“The slower-than-expected growth was due to rapid declines in consumer-facing markets,” Chief Executive Mike Roman said.
“As demand weakened, we adjusted manufacturing output and controlled costs, which enabled us to improve inventory levels,” he added.
Amazon layoff signals more pain for tech sector as recession fears mount
The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company reported a profit of 98 cents per share for the fourth quarter, down from $2.31 per share, a year earlier, mainly on charges related to PFAS manufacturing exit.
Sales in the quarter fell 6% to $8.1 billion. Excluding items, the company reported a profit of $2.28 per share compared to $2.45 per share a year earlier.
Comments
Comments are closed.