Facing thousands of lawsuits from veterans, 3M on Tuesday sought bankruptcy protection for a subsidiary that makes military-grade earplugs and booked a $1.2 billion charge to resolve litigation.
3M said that its Aearo Technologies unit and related business have started Chapter 11 proceedings stemming from the earplug litigation. The company has committed $1 billion to fund a trust to pay out claimants during the proceedings and $240 million to fund expected expenses related to the case. 3M said it would provide more funding if required.
