ST.PAUL, Minn., April 25 -- Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co. (3M) will cut 5000 jobs and boost productivity in order to help it deal with slowing worldwide economic growth and the strong US dollar, the company said. The job cuts, equal to 7 percent of its workforce, will occur during the next 12 months. About half of the cuts will be outside the United States.
    3M made the announcement as it reported first-quarter earnings in line with expectations. The company had income from operations of $467 million, or $1.16 a share, compared with $456 million, or $1.13 a share, a year ago. Sales rose 2.3 percent to $4.17 billion from $4.05 billion. 3M's products range from Post-It notes and Scotch tape to industrial adhesives and fiber optic connectors.