3M to shed 1,500 jobs in 'structural overhead'

Manufacturing giant 3M Corp. plans to shed 1,500 jobs worldwide after slightly lowering its profit forecast for the year.

The company, which had warned earlier this year that sales were slowing at a faster rate than it had expected, will save $130 million in 2016 primarily by shedding jobs in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

3M, which makes a wide variety of products ranging from Post-It Notes to high-tech phone components, said in a statement that the job cuts would involve mostly "structural overhead."

The company (MMM) lowered its earnings-per-share forecast for the full year from a range of $7.73 to $7.93 to a range of $7.73 to $7.78 when not including the restructuring costs.

"We are building a stronger, more streamlined and more focused company that can compete and win for years to come," 3M CEO Inge G. Thulin said in a statement.

Revenue fell 5% for the third quarter, compared to the same period a year earlier, to $7.7 billion as unfavorable foreign currency rates took a toll on the company's performance. That included drops in all five of the company's major divisions: industrial, safety and graphics, electronics and energy, health care and consumer.

3M said that sales grew 1% in the third quarter, compared to last year, when excluding the impact of currency and acquisitions.

Net income was steady at $1.3 billion.

Shares of 3M were up 2.9% to $154.16 in morning trading.

Follow Paste BN reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.