3M CEO on Plant Closings

This is via Doug Henwood at lbo-talk, posted under the heading “Capitalist Thought.” He says he doesn’t know the origin of it, but that it’s from a reliable source.

In 3M Co.’s quarterly update this month, Chairman and CEO George Buckley talked about how the company had closed 16 plants over the last year and a half, has been drawing down inventory and cutting capital spending.

“Is this healthy?” he said on the call. “All of us acknowledge we’re collectively making the situation worse, but I think the first responsibility we have as leaders of companies is to make sure that we ensure the health and survival of our own companies first, not necessarily other people’s companies, or, for that matter, the whole U.S. economy.”