3m (TG:MMM)
Historical Stock Chart

From May 2019 to May 2024

3M Co. (MMM) is offering early-retirement incentives to nearly 11% of its U.S. work force as company moves to further reduce its costs.

The voluntary retirement offer presented Thursday to 3,600 nonunion employees follows the company's announcement last week that it will cut an additional 1,200 workers, mostly overseas.

The company, which makes Scotch tape, Post-It notes and other products for a variety of industries, said employees eligible for the offer have to be at least 59 years old and have a minimum of five years service with 3M or be at least 55 with 30 years or more of service.

Employees accepting the offer will receive an additional year of service and have a year added to their age in calculating their pension benefits, 3M spokeswoman Jacqueline Berry said. Eligible employees have until May 31 to accept the deal.

"It's another aspect to control our costs," Berry said about the retirement offer.

The company did not say how many employees it expects to take the offer, or whether additional layoffs will follow. Minnesota-based 3M has about 34,000 U.S. employees and 75,000 worldwide.

In recent months 3M has deployed several strategies to conserve cash and align its costs with the reduced demand for its products in the slumping global economy.

3M trimmed 3,500 positions in 2008, including 2,400 in the fourth-quarter.

The company in January announced a 30% reduction in capital spending for 2009. It also said merit-pay raises will be suspended, saving about $235 million this year, and eliminated the accumulated vacation-time policy.

3M's stock was recently up $2, or 3.9%, at $53.36.

-By Bob Tita, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4129; robert.tita@dowjones.com