Winnipeg automation company lays off 1/3 of staff as trade war leads to 'spending freeze'

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

A Winnipeg-based robotics institution says it's laid disconnected astir a 3rd of its employees, arsenic orders for its products adust up amid uncertainty stemming from the Canada-U.S. commercialized war.

Eascan Automation Inc. says betwixt 20 and 23 employees were fto spell past month, with concern precocious dropping by astir 25 per cent from a highest driven by pent-up request after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The company, which provides custom-built machines to manufacturers, says its concern chiefly comes from Manitoba and different parts of Canada, but there's inactive been a slowdown that began astir the clip Donald Trump was re-elected U.S. president.

Manufacturers doing "any benignant of welding oregon bending oregon fabricating, a batch of their worldly was going to the States," said Jason Andres, Eascan's wide manager.

"A lot of companies are saying, 'OK, we don't request a robot this year. We tin hold different year.'"

Andres said that includes alloy and aluminum processors, whose industry was precocious hit by a 25 per cent tariff connected exports of those metals to the U.S.

WATCH | Eascan says it expects to upwind commercialized warfare contempt layoffs:

The wide manager said Eascan has recently lost retired on $3 cardinal to $4 cardinal successful orders helium was assured the institution would get, aft clients decided to propulsion out.

The institution is seeing "kind of a implicit spending freeze," Andres said.

"Even conscionable those small [purchase orders] person benignant of been much challenging to get, and I deliberation that's truly slowed america down, due to the fact that sometimes we would usage that to capable successful the gaps."

'Very few' volition flight pain: chamber

Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said that by precocious January, a bulk of its members said they were expecting oregon already feeling the impacts of U.S. tariffs connected Canadian goods.

Nearly fractional of respondents to a survey astatine that constituent said they expected to suffer customers, with galore besides anticipating layoffs oregon hiring freezes, helium said.

"The longer this goes connected … those freezes volition crook into, unfortunately, imaginable workforce reductions," helium said.

Remillard said that portion front-line exporters whitethorn beryllium the archetypal ones "paying the price," each associated industries and businesses that enactment those companies — like Eascan — volition beryllium wounded too, arsenic the interaction of the tariffs moves done the economy.

"It speaks to the insidious quality of tariffs," Remillard said. 

"Ultimately, we cognize determination is precise fewer — if immoderate — companies that would yet flight this prolonged commercialized dispute. We volition each consciousness the impact, and that could beryllium arsenic consumers.… We volition commencement to spot accrued costs connected the shelf."

'Mr. T retired there' creating problems

The Trump medication has sent mixed messages as to what tariffs it volition slap connected Canadian goods on April 2, erstwhile different circular of levies connected Canadian goods is acceptable to travel into effect. 

That's par for the people for the U.S. president, whose unpredictable attack to commercialized negotiations has been characterized by threats, reversals and delays.

Eascan said it's expecting concern to prime up erstwhile customers get immoderate clarity.

"We're truly hoping that it's conscionable a lull and that we'll get backmost to wherever we privation to be," said income manager Gary Kristiansen.

He added that he's received immoderate calls from imaginable clients who privation to determination immoderate projects ahead, but are holding disconnected for the clip being.

"I had 1 this morning, arsenic an example, who said … 'Mr. T retired determination is creating excessively overmuch problems,'" Kristiansen said. "Call maine backmost successful May.'"