A new survey of manufacturers suggests many businesses are worried about cash flow, project cancellations, and worker anxiety.
The survey has been conducted weekly by the Canadian Association of Moldmakers and Automate Canada for the Windsor-Essex Regional Task Force. Both are based in Windsor.
The results of the third survey were released on Monday.
The number one concern cited by employers was employee anxiety. The authors of the survey suggest the drop in sales and increasing difficulty fulfilling current orders is having an impact on the mental and physical health of workers. Out of 100 responses in week three, 71 said employee anxiety was their top concern.
Cash flow was cited as the top concern for the future by 63 workplaces followed by employee morale, health and safety, and reduced demand for product.
"The situation for manufacturers is not good," said CAMM Board Chair Mike Bilton. "We can't sugar coat things, but we also aren't sitting back wringing our hands. Everyone is in this together, so we gather data, we review and we come up with short and long-term action plans."
More and more manufacturers are answering the call for medical supplies. A third of respondents said they were making products like ventilators and personal protective equipment for frontline health workers. Half of those companies are working under a purchase order, 16 per cent are donating what they make, and a quarter replied "other."
Layoffs doubled during the third week to 2,661 employees, up from 1,045 during the second week. Most workplaces said the layoffs are temporary, but permanent layoffs are increasing.
One in five companies said production at their facilities were completely, or almost wholly, shut down. Most have had some reduction, but 29 per cent said they were still running at 90 per cent capacity.
Of the 91 per cent of companies that said they had some reduction in operations, most cited the lack of personnel and slowing orders.
Almost half of the respondents said they had not laid anyone off, and some manufacturers are hiring. During week two, 14 workers were brought on, and 13 during week three.
More manufacturers are also starting to take advantage of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.
