3M's global-to-regional restructuring cut 2,000 jobs — but the complexity stayed

3M, the diversified industrial conglomerate known for its innovation culture, had grown increasingly complex over decades of global expansion. By 2019, the company operated through dozens of business units spread across multiple geographies, with overlapping supply chains and decision-making that was slow and bureaucratic. In March 2019, CEO Mike Roman announced a major restructuring: 3M would consolidate from a global business model into four regional operating units, intended to simplify the organization and move decision-making closer to customers.

The restructuring eliminated about 2,000 positions, primarily in management and support roles, and cost the company approximately $100 million in severance and reorganization expenses. The new structure grouped 3M’s 50-plus business units into four regions: the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Asia Pacific, and a fourth unit for safety and industrial products. The goal was to reduce complexity and improve supply chain efficiency.

The restructuring did not achieve its objectives. By 2020, 3M’s organic growth remained flat, and the company continued to face major legal liabilities, including the PFAS environmental litigation and the combat earplug lawsuit, which would eventually cost the company billions in settlements. The regional structure added a layer of management without eliminating the underlying complexity of 3M’s product portfolio. In 2022, 3M announced further job cuts and a spin-off of its healthcare business, effectively acknowledging that the 2019 restructuring had not gone far enough.