3M Fires Top Exec Weeks After Promotion

Company cites 'inappropriate personal conduct'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 15, 2023 5:40 PM CDT
3M Fires Top Exec for 'Inappropriate Personal Conduct'
The logo for 3M appears on a screen above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

3M has fired prominent company executive Michael Vale due to "inappropriate personal conduct and violation of company policy," the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings, and ceramics announced on Monday. Vale was promoted to group president and chief business and country officer just last month. He worked at 3M for more than 30 years, according to an April 25 press release announcing his promotion, which said Vale would report to Chairman and CEO Mike Roman. The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company said that Vale was terminated on Friday.

3M did not specify many details surrounding the executive's termination but noted that his inappropriate conduct and violation of policy was "unrelated to the company's operations and financial performance," the AP reports. According to 3M's Monday announcement, the company took "immediate action" after verifying the violation. 3M has initiated a search to find a replacement for Vale, the company said. Toro, a Minnesota-based maker of lawn and snow equipment, said in a separate announcement Monday that Vale had resigned as a director, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Vale's termination arrives just weeks after 3M announced that the company would be cutting thousands of jobs as part of restructuring actions. When announcing first-quarter results in April, 3M said that these actions were expected to impact about 6,000 positions worldwide, in addition to the reduction of 2,500 manufacturing roles announced in January.

(More corporate execs stories.)

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