As part of an enterprise-wide restructuring and cost-reduction plan, Maplewood, Minnesota-based 3M Corporation, the iconic multinational conglomerate, has announced that it will be permanently closing its 145,000-square-foot Fairmont, Minnesota manufacturing plant. 3M will move its 3M Dual Lock products production to 3M's Knoxville, Iowa facility and will move 3M Hook & Loop products production to its Aberdeen, South Dakota facility.
The company is consolidating production to facilities in Iowa and South Dakota, and has closed 16 sites this year and plans 10 more closures planned for 2027.
The closure will affect 62 employees and be completed by December 31, 2026.
According to a 3M spokesperson, “The closure is part of the company's focus on manufacturing and supply chain efficiency. We continue to see meaningful opportunities to further simplify and standardize, reshape the portfolio, reduce risk and improve enterprise resilience and predictability. We're intending to support impacted employees with severance and transition support."
Change is constant, and it's coming. Tomorrow will always come, no matter how much you try to ignore it. Life offers no guarantees, nor promises of a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something terrible hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. While many employees can read the writing on the wall, why do most assume it’s targeted at someone else? Are you wondering, "Am I Next?"