Great pay and benefits, but terrible management and too much overtime - Quality Inspector 3M Employee Review

1.0
Apr 16, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Job security, great pay with yearly increases adjusted for inflation, internal opportunities to transfer to other departments/facilities

Cons

Not union, unprofessional management, communication issues between departments and different levels of management, corrupt, favoritism (will bend the rules for their friends but will jump on an opportunity to fire someone they don't like), profit over people mindset, too much overtime to the point of injuries and sickness, will hire anyone to fill in employment gaps and so desperate for employees that they won't fire bad employees, will use "at-will" employment laws to threaten employees into silence if they participate in HR/idea card/improvement programs, will change company policies without notice if it leads to more profitable sales and production (forcing employees to change shifts, departments, schedules even if it doesn't work with their family/children responsibilities, increased overtime, working holidays even though policy stated we had them off, interpretation of weather policy to suit business needs) The Red Wing site is absolutely terrible with continuously changing upper management. If you are considering 3M as a career choice, then look into other site locations and unions.

Explore other reviews about 3M

5.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good company to work for.

Cons

Large corp culture for employees

4.0
Jun 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Compensation is genuinely competitive — one of the stronger-paying manufacturing roles you'll find in the area. Benefits package is comprehensive and well above average. The retirement account and stock options are a real standout, especially for a machine operator role; 3M clearly invests in its employees long-term. Day-to-day, the people on the floor make the job. Coworkers were hardworking and easy to get along with, which goes a long way in a production environment. Upper management is what you'd expect from a large corporation — a bit removed from the floor — but that's pretty standard for a company of that size, Not a deal breaker.

Cons

The shift schedule is rough. Rotating between 12-hour days and nights on a swing schedule sounds manageable on paper, but constantly flipping your sleep schedule takes a real toll over time. Work-life balance is difficult to maintain when your "days off" are often spent just recovering and readjusting, and you can easily miss out on normal life things — social plans, family time, errands — simply because your schedule doesn't line up with the rest of the world that week. Upper management can also be a friction point. When people who haven't touched the machines in years (or ever) come to the floor with strong opinions about how things should run, it creates frustration. The folks actually operating the equipment day in and day out develop real expertise, and that doesn't always feel acknowledged from above.

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