3M (NYSE:MMM) on Thursday said it would lay off 2,000 workers globally as it reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its 2019 earnings forecast due to worsening performance in key markets.
The job cuts, part of moves to restructure its businesses into four operating units from five, would result in an estimated annual pretax savings range of $225 million to $250 million, with $100 million in the remainder of 2019, the company said in a statement.
Earnings per share were $2.23, adjusted vs. $2.49 expected, per a survey of analysts. Revenue came in at $7.863 billion vs. $8.025 billion expected.
Sales were down 5% to $7.9 billion. Organic local-currency sales declined 1.1% while divestitures, net of acquisitions, decreased sales by 0.5%. Foreign currency translation decreased sales by 3.4 %year-on-year.
The first-quarter results were hurt by a significant litigation-related pre-tax charge of $548 million, or 72 cents per share.
3M, which makes everything from adhesive tapes to air filters, said it now expects 2019 adjusted earnings between $9.25 and $9.75 a share, versus its prior forecast of $10.45 to $10.90 per share.
"The first quarter was a disappointing start to the year for 3M," CEO Mike Roman said in a statement. "We continued to face slowing conditions in key end markets which impacted both organic growth and margins, and our operational execution also fell short of the expectations we have for ourselves."
Shares in 3M opened Thursday down $20.62, or 9.4%, to $198.69
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