• Podcast: Facing a recession? Here's how automation can keep your factory running

    Podcast: Facing a recession? Here's how automation can keep your factory running

    May 13, 2025
    In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, learn how automation can help you stay ahead with tariffs, labor gaps, and recession risks on the line.

    Key takeaways

    • Automation boosts resilience by cutting costs, increasing output, and reducing reliance on unpredictable labor markets.
    • Recession-proofing means using data-driven automation to stay agile, not just trimming budgets.
    • Automating repetitive tasks helps manufacturers fill labor gaps and elevate workforce skills.
    • Ongoing global tariffs and recession risks make automation a strategic necessity, not a luxury.

     

    In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, New Equipment Digest Editor-in-Chief Laura Davis presents expert insights from Wauseon Machine’s Scott Anair on using automation to optimize operations in the face of mounting economic pressure. With rising tariffs and a potential recession on the horizon, the episode highlights the critical role automation can play in building resilience. From reducing labor challenges to boosting productivity, the podcast outlines practical strategies for navigating disruption.

    Below is an edited excerpt from the podcast:

    There's no doubt about it, we're facing some serious economic warning signs right now. With these new sweeping tariffs affecting imports from practically every country, our supply chains are under enormous pressure. Ports could be emptying within the next month, and even if things start moving again quickly, we're looking at potentially another month before operations normalize. And according to JP Morgan Research from just two weeks ago (at the time of recording this), the probability of a recession in 2025 remains at 60%. Despite some unwinding of the Liberation Day tariffs, they note that the remaining universal 10% tariff remains "a material threat to growth," and the 145% tariff on China keeps that recession probability stubbornly high. When economic trouble hits, manufacturers feel that pressure from all sides—efficiency drops, safety concerns pop up, and sustainability goals take a backseat. But here's the thing: automation might just be the lifeline businesses need to weather these storms. Today, I want to explore how companies can use automation not just to survive what might be coming our way, but to come out stronger on the other side.

    So what does it mean to recession-proof your business? At its core, recession-proofing is about making your company resilient—able to stand strong even when everything around you seems to be falling apart. Typically, this includes some combination of improving cash flow, optimizing resources, and cutting unnecessary expenses. But let me tell you, recession-proofing goes way beyond just watching your finances.

    It's about creating a business that's adaptable and flexible, one that uses data to drive decisions rather than gut feelings, and one that's ready to compete even when demand drops and competition gets fierce. And that's where automation comes in—it streamlines processes, reduces your dependency on labor (which we'll talk about in a minute), and boosts productivity across the board. These are all critical factors when you're trying to weather an economic storm.\

    Let's talk about one of manufacturing's biggest headaches: labor turnover. Manufacturers know this pain all too well. On average, there are between 500,000 and 700,000 job openings in U.S. manufacturing at any given time. Many of these positions go unfilled because they involve repetitive, low-skill tasks that, frankly, people don't want to do. And who can blame them?

    This is where automation really shines. It can take over those monotonous tasks, freeing up your human workforce to focus on higher-level, skilled roles. Instead of having people performing the same tedious task day in and day out, they could be operating and maintaining the machines that do those tasks. This not only improves efficiency but opens up new career paths for your employees.

    About the Podcast
    Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast offers news and information for the people who make, store and move things and those who manage and maintain the facilities where that work gets done. Manufacturers from chemical producers to automakers to machine shops can listen for critical insights into the technologies, economic conditions and best practices that can influence how to best run facilities to reach operational excellence.

    Listen to another episode and subscribe on your favorite podcast app

    About the Author

    Laura Davis

    Laura Davis is the editor in chief of New Equipment Digest (NED), a brand part of the Manufacturing Group at Endeavor Business Media. NED covers all products, equipment, solutions, and technology related to the broad scope of manufacturing, from mops and buckets to robots and automation. Laura has been a manufacturing product writer for six years, knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the industry along with what readers are looking for when wanting to learn about the latest products on the market. 

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