Laid off from 3M.
Since late 2025, 3M has announced about 170 job cuts at its Decatur, Alabama chemical operation through early 2028 and a Fairmont, Minnesota plant closing affecting roughly 80 positions, likely by early 2027. Both follow a 2023 to 2025 reorganization that 3M's 10-K counts at about 7,000 positions worldwide.
At a glance
What's known about 3M severance and layoffs
- None · 3M WARN filings since 2025, our tracker
- About 170 employees by early 2028 · 3M Decatur, Alabama reduction, announced October 2025
- Roughly 80 positions, production likely ending by early 2027 · 3M Fairmont, Minnesota plant closing, announced January 2026
- About 7,000 worldwide, per the 2025 10-K · Positions in 3M's 2023 to 2025 reorganization
- $118 million, primarily employee related · 3M transformation charges, first half of 2026
- More than 20,000 employees · Solventum's workforce at the 2024 spin-off, per 3M
- 60,500 · 3M employees, December 31, 2025
Recent 3M layoffs
3M says it's moving finance, HR and customer service support activities to a model run with an outside provider
On its July 21, 2026 earnings call, 3M said it's bringing support activities such as finance, HR and customer service into "a single global service delivery model" and partnering with an external provider to run them with automation and AI. The remarks named no provider and gave no job count. The quarterly filing for the same period put first-half transformation charges at $118 million, primarily employee related.
Previous rounds
3M layoff history
A wind-down scheduled to finish in early 2028 leaves a lot of room to wonder which month is yours. That's the situation at 3M's Decatur, Alabama site, where in late October 2025 the company said it would lay off approximately 170 employees and scale back production there by early 2028 as it moved away from PFAS manufacturing. It said the shift away from chemical production would begin as soon as the end of 2025, that it intends to consolidate most of the non-PFAS specialty chemicals made there at its Cordova, Illinois site, and that Decatur would continue its focus on specialty films. The Morgan County Economic Development Association put the site at around 700 employees, and 3M said affected people could apply for other open 3M positions.
Fairmont got a firmer ending. In January 2026, employees at 3M's plant there, part of the town since 1946, learned it would close, with production ending likely by early 2027 and roughly 80 positions affected, and 3M said it intended to support them with severance and transition support. Neither Fairmont nor Decatur shows up in our WARN tracker, which holds no 3M filings since the start of 2025. So the best record of your timeline is what HR puts in writing. Ask for your separation date and the severance plan document early.
Both follow a much larger reorganization. In January 2023, 3M said it was cutting 2,500 manufacturing jobs, and in April it added 6,000 more worldwide, aiming to shrink the corporate center and remove layers of management while trimming as much as $900 million a year. On May 1, 2023, 3M sent Minnesota's DEED a WARN letter covering approximately 1,100 employees connected to its Maplewood headquarters site, with terminations starting June 30. The 2025 10-K counts the program, from early 2023 into mid-2025, at about 7,000 positions worldwide, a count updated to exclude discontinued operations, with charges of $415 million in 2023, $187 million in 2024 and $21 million in 2025. Separate PFAS exit actions accounted for about 1,200 positions.
Then came Solventum. In March 2024, 3M's board approved spinning off the health care business as Solventum, which 3M anticipated would happen on April 1, 2024, and 3M said Solventum would include more than 20,000 employees across MedSurg, Dental Solutions, Health Information Systems and Purification & Filtration. 3M reported 92,000 employees for 2022, and its year-end headcount ran 85,000 in 2023, 61,500 in 2024 and 60,500 in 2025. If your job sat in one of those businesses, check whose name is on your plan documents before comparing terms with anyone at 3M.
3M's filings give its newest program dollar figures and no position count. The 10-K describes a transformation program begun in 2025 as a structural redesign of manufacturing, distribution and business process services and locations, with $35 million of employee-related charges that year, and in the first half of 2026 3M approved actions costing $118 million, primarily employee related, with more expected. On its July 21, 2026 earnings call, 3M said it's bringing support activities such as finance, HR and customer service into a single global service delivery model run with an external provider. If your job is in any of those functions, or in a plant, ask your manager how your role fits, and get any answer that matters in writing.
In Minnesota, DEED says federal law requires employers with at least 100 employees to give it at least 60 days' notice before a mass layoff or plant closing, and its State Rapid Response Team works with employers and employee representatives on layoffs and closings, with information on unemployment insurance, CareerForce job search help and MNsure. Our Minnesota unemployment guide picks up from there. In Decatur, the county's economic development association said it offered to help the 170 find other work and that hiring companies had asked to present openings to them, and the Alabama unemployment guide covers filing. In either state, keep your separation letter, any severance agreement and your last pay stubs together before you file.
Reporting on previous 3M layoff rounds
First half of 2026, company-wide transformation actions · $118 million of pre-tax charges, primarily employee related, $74 million of it in the second quarter, with no position count given
January 2026, Fairmont, Minnesota plant closing · Roughly 80 positions, with production ending likely by early 2027
3M said it intended to support affected employees "with severance and transition support."
October 2025, Decatur, Alabama chemical wind-down · About 170 employees by early 2028, with 3M saying it intends to consolidate most non-PFAS specialty chemicals made there in Cordova, Illinois
3M said it planned to offer severance and transition support and that affected employees could apply for other open 3M positions.
2023 to mid-2025, structural reorganization and PFAS exit · About 7,000 positions worldwide in the reorganization, with charges of $415 million in 2023 and $187 million in 2024, plus about 1,200 positions in PFAS exit actions
May 2023, Maplewood headquarters WARN notice · About 1,100 employees connected to the headquarters site, with terminations starting June 30, 2023; the letter said none were union-represented or had bumping rights
January and April 2023, global cuts announced · 2,500 manufacturing jobs in January and 6,000 more in April, with 3M aiming to trim as much as $900 million a year
What to do after being laid off from 3M
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. 3M's biggest hubs: Minnesota, Alabama. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what 3M's hub states run: Minnesota, Alabama, and every other state is here.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.
3M layoff and severance questions
How many jobs is 3M cutting in Decatur, Alabama?
About 170. In late October 2025, 3M said it would lay off approximately 170 employees and scale back production in Decatur by early 2028 as it moved away from PFAS manufacturing, and said the site would continue its focus on specialty films.
Is 3M closing its plant in Fairmont, Minnesota?
Employees there learned in January 2026 that the site would close permanently. 3M said production would be discontinued likely by early 2027, affecting roughly 80 positions, and tied the move to manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies.
Does 3M give severance to laid-off employees?
In Decatur, 3M said it planned to offer severance and transition support, and in Fairmont it said it intended to support affected employees the same way. Neither statement described an amount or a formula, and the May 2023 headquarters notice named no terms. Get the plan document from HR before you sign anything, and negotiating a severance agreement covers what to ask.
How many people did 3M lay off in 2023?
3M announced 2,500 manufacturing job cuts in January 2023 and 6,000 more worldwide in April. Its 2025 10-K counts the whole reorganization, from early 2023 into mid-2025, at about 7,000 positions, a count updated to exclude discontinued operations.
Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from 3M?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. 3M's biggest U.S. hubs are Minnesota, Alabama. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at 3M?
Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.
What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at 3M?
Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from 3M?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.