A Reporter Calls Me Every Week Asking Who's Laying Off with Jason Bates │ Manufacturing Community │ Ep. 183

A Reporter Calls Me Every Week Asking Who's Laying Off with Jason Bates │ Manufacturing Community │ Ep. 183

Author: Trevor Blondeel July 8, 2026 Duration: 37:00

A reporter calls Jason Bates every week looking for the big layoff story. The five-hundred-people-let-go story. Jason keeps telling him the truth: layoffs are happening, in small numbers. So is hiring. But the catastrophe the headlines want isn't what he sees across hundreds of Ontario plants every day. Trevor sits down with Jason, Manufacturing Consortium Manager at EMC, Canada's largest manufacturing consortium, to unpack what's really going on, the plants that are quietly adjusting and diversifying, and the peer community most owners haven't tapped into. Growth doesn't sell papers. Manufacturing team leadership doesn't happen inside your four walls. The vast majority of plants are doing just fine. Most owners don't know that.

Connect with Jason:

LinkedIn👉 https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jasonbates3

Website 👉 emccanada.org

🎁 Free: 10 great questions to ask your leadership and drive engagement → manufacturinggreatness.com/subscribe and get bonus content in our newsletter!

Connect with Trevor: 

LinkedIn 👉 linkedin.com/in/trevorblondeel 

Website 👉 manufacturinggreatness.com 


Trevor Blondeel hosts Manufacturing Greatness, a series built on the belief that the most valuable insights come from real-world experience. Each episode features candid conversations with leaders from the factory floor and beyond, focusing on the human side of industry challenges. You’ll hear stories that tackle the pressing issues of retention, skills gaps, and labor challenges with a sense of transparency rarely found in business discussions. This podcast digs into practical strategies for continuous improvement and workforce development, connecting them directly to productivity and safety outcomes. Rather than abstract theory, Trevor and his guests explore how to leverage existing resources and people to build a more resilient operation. The dialogue naturally extends to what Industry 4.0 means for frontline supervisors and plant managers, framing technology as a tool for human empowerment. It’s for anyone who believes that sustainable profits are built through authentic leadership and a relentless focus on developing people. By listening, you gain access to a community focused on pragmatic solutions, where the shared goal is to cultivate excellence from the ground up in a constantly evolving manufacturing landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Manufacturing Greatness | Productivity | Retention | Profits | Continuous Improvement | Safety | Workforce Development | Labor Challenges | Skills Gaps | Industry 4.0
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