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3M reveals plan to axe 2,300 posts
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-10 07:56 Diversified manufacturer 3M Co said on Monday it will cut 2,300 jobs in the fourth quarter and lowered its 2008 outlook due to the global economic downturn, sending its shares down as much as 7.4 percent. 3M, an economic bellwether whose products range from cellphone circuits to Post-It notes, said in a statement that it lowered its 2008 outlook to between $5.10 and $5.15 per share, excluding items, from an earlier estimate of $5.40 to $5.48. "Some people have actually been somewhat critical of our '08 performance and the reality is we were seeing a slowing economy before it ever was officially called a slowing economy," Chief Financial Officer Pat Campbell told a gathering of investors in New York City. The revised outlook disappointed expectations on Wall Street, which expected the company's 2008 earnings to be $5.44 per share, according to Reuters Estimates. "3M is clearly more cyclical than most investors realize," wrote Citi analyst Jeffrey Sprague in a note to clients. Sprague has a "sell" rating on 3M's shares in the belief 3M has been mistakenly viewed as more defensive than it actually is. The company is exposed to several end markets, including automotive, consumer and office and dental, that are already taking a hit from the cyclical downturn, Sprague noted. The company has already cut 1,800 jobs in the fourth quarter and will cut 500 more - about 2.9 percent of its workforce, spokeswoman Jacqueline Berry said. Most of the cuts will affect the United States, Western Europe and Japan. They should cost $215 million, or about 22 cents per share, and save the company $225 million into 2009, the company told investors. |
