Reborn Industrial Tycoon

Li Weidong and Norwood-Jewell broke up on bad terms, and he is most likely going to organize a workers' strike.

Norwood-Jewell has been a union cadre for decades and has dealt with all automobile companies building factories in the United States, but this is the first time he has seen management like Li Weidong, who is unwilling to even talk.

Under normal circumstances, in this kind of negotiation, the union will first put forward a condition, and then the company will also put forward a condition based on the union's conditions, and then the two parties will argue for a period of time before finally reaching a consensus.

The company will improve some benefits, the union will stop causing trouble, and then both parties will calm down for a period of time, waiting for the next time the union starts trouble, and then repeat the previous operations.

This is how the wages of U.S. auto workers have risen. The average salary of U.S. auto workers is more than twice the average American salary and 1.5 times the U.S. median income.

Many people may think that it is normal for frontline workers to earn twice the average income. But considering the income level in the United States, this high income is obviously unreasonable.

Because the higher the salary in a country, the higher the labor cost. When the labor cost becomes higher, the enterprise's demand threshold for manpower will be higher, which will in turn equalize the salary. This is a method that has been studied in the field of human resources management.

confirmed phenomenon.

For example, if you hire a nanny with a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan, the requirements will definitely not be very high. If you hire a nanny with a monthly salary of 30,000 yuan, the minimum requirement is 985,211!

In the same way, the same applies to job applicants. If the Environmental Sanitation Bureau recruits public toilet managers, if it is officially on the job, a group of masters will sign up, just because the salary is good and they will have an iron rice bowl.

For example, in developed countries in Northern Europe, salaries are relatively high, and the salary gap between different industries is not large. Although the salary of a university professor will still be higher than that of a workshop worker, the gap will not be several times higher. The same people there generally

They are all well-educated, and it is common for one person to have several master's degrees.

But if you want to work in an industry where the salary is very high, and the industry’s requirements for professional skills are not so demanding, this is unreasonable.

This is what American auto workers are like. Workers should not think that the high wages of American auto workers are a good thing. Behind the increase in auto workers' wages is the decline of the American auto industry. Because labor costs are too high, cars that originally set up factories in the United States

Companies have moved their businesses to countries such as Mexico.

When the company leaves, workers' jobs will be gone. At the same time, the corresponding supply chain of the automobile industry will also be transferred. Then workers in the supply chain will also lose their jobs, and "auto cities" like Detroit will go bankrupt.

The key to wages in the manufacturing industry is not high or low, but reasonable. If workers are paid too high, it will hurt the entire industry, and if workers are paid too low, it will hurt workers. Only when wages are at a reasonable level can there be a win-win situation.

…

Ford, Jaguar Land Rover deal signing ceremony is about to begin.

The two real owners, Li Weidong and Bill Ford, sat together, waiting for the lawyer to bring the transaction contract.

"Mr. Li, I heard that you have not reached an agreement with the labor union?" Bill Ford asked.

"The union demands too much, and I can't possibly agree to their conditions," Li Weidong said with a blank expression.

"If we have differences, we can talk about it! As I said before, if you give in and I give in, we can definitely reach a result acceptable to both parties."

Bill Ford said, showing a worried expression, and then said: "Mr. Li, with all due respect, if you cannot reach an agreement with the union, the union will definitely use some means next."

"I know, it's nothing more than a strike!" Li Weidong said with a relaxed look.

"A strike will cause the factory to stop production, and it is the employer who will suffer the ultimate loss," Bill Ford said.

"It doesn't matter, I just need to fire a group of strikers. Other workers will be frightened and will naturally obey. I don't believe they will give up their jobs!" Li Weidong showed a determined expression.

Bill Ford's eyes showed a hint of sarcasm, and he continued: "Mr. Li, your method may be useful in China, but this is the United States after all. The United States has American rules. If you deviate from American rules, you

I’m afraid it will be difficult to succeed.”

"Thank you, Mr. Ford, for the reminder." Li Weidong thanked him perfunctorily, then pointed to the lawyer who was walking this way, and said: "Mr. Ford, the contract has just been brought, we can start signing the contract.

."

"It's hard to persuade a damn ghost with good words! Since you don't follow the rules and have to fight against the union, you deserve to suffer heavy losses. Jaguar Land Rover went bankrupt in your hands, and we at Ford still have one less competitor!"

Thinking of this, Bill Ford showed a fake smile on his face, and then made a "please" gesture, but he was thinking about watching Li Weidong's joke in a few days.

…

Under the flash of spotlights, the two parties completed the signing, followed by an intermittent press conference.

For this signing ceremony, Ford specially invited many reporters to attend.

Last year, Ford suffered billions of losses, and Jaguar Land Rover was one of the major losers. If it can get rid of Jaguar Land Rover's revenge, Ford will not only be able to recover US$1.5 billion in funds, but also reduce this year's losses. This will

Definitely good for Ford's stock price.

That's why Ford invited a large number of reporters, hoping to take this opportunity to publicize the company, increase its stock price, and explain to shareholders.

The assistant quietly came to Bill Ford's ear and said: "Mr. President, everything has been arranged. All the reporters we invited are here."

"Very good." Bill Ford smiled and nodded, and then said: "Let the public relations department treat those reporters well."

"President, there's one more thing. I saw Norwood Jewell from the Auto Workers Union is here too," the assistant said.

"Don't be nervous, he is here for the Chinese." Bill Ford said with some gloating: "Anyway, we have sold Jaguar Land Rover, and now the workers of Jaguar Land Rover have nothing to do with us, we will just wait and see.

It’s getting lively.”

…

Bill Ford was the first to be interviewed, and he was seen talking eloquently in front of the camera, looking like a general.

The reporters were all invited by Ford, and Ford's public relations department had already communicated with the reporters. Therefore, the reporters' questions about Bill Ford were all discussed before they were realized, and Bill Ford was naturally able to answer them with ease.

Afterwards, it was Li Weidong's turn to be interviewed. Since American reporters were not familiar with Li Weidong, the reporter was not very interested in him. At the beginning, he only asked a few situational questions, such as the development prospects of Jaguar Land Rover.

Do you have any plans or anything like that?

Finally, a reporter asked, "Mr. Li, it is said that the labor union is opposed to this acquisition. Is it true?"

"Everyone can express their opinions. This is their freedom, isn't it?" Li Weidong smiled slightly and continued: "But the labor union does not have equity in Jaguar Land Rover, nor has it signed an agreement with Ford to refuse the acquisition.

, so the opposition of the trade union organization is invalid and will not affect the legality of this acquisition."

"Mr. Li, it is said that labor unions will use practical actions to prevent this acquisition, such as protests, marches or strikes. What do you think of this, or how do you plan to respond?" the reporter asked again.

Li Weidong thought for a while and said: "For this hypothetical question, I can only say that the decisions I make will comply with American laws."

"Mr. Li, are you worried about the workers at the Jaguar Land Rover factory going on strike?" the reporter looked like he was asking for help.

"I'm not worried about this. I'm full of confidence in the future of Jaguar Land Rover." Li Weidong said without hesitation. Even if he was very worried at this time, he could only slap the fat man in the face.

When the issue of a strike came up, the surrounding reporters immediately became interested. Compared with the US$1.5 billion acquisition, the workers' strike was more topical and more popular.

The reporters whose interest was waning raised their cameras and pointed them at Li Weidong, or took out their recorders.

At this moment, a figure walked through the crowd and walked in front of them. This person was Norwood Jewell.

"Everyone, my name is Norwood-Jewell, and I am a representative of the United Auto Workers!" Norwood-Jewell introduced himself, immediately attracting the attention of reporters.

After Norwood-Jewell introduced himself, he turned to look at Li Weidong and said: "Mr. Li, on behalf of the 3,875 auto workers at the Bemher factory, I would like to announce to you that from now on, we will carry out unlimited

We will continue the strike until you are willing to improve the welfare of workers in accordance with our requirements."

Norwood-Jewell said, took out a document, handed it to Li Weidong, and then said: "Mr. Li, this is a written notice."

When this scene happened, the reporters at the scene immediately became excited. Everyone thought this was just an ordinary press conference, but they didn't expect such a big melon!

The employer had just completed the acquisition, and it had only been good for three seconds before the union jumped out and wanted to go on strike. Such a big drama has been rare in decades.

Moreover, a reporter just asked Li Weidong about the strike organized by the labor union, and Li Weidong just replied "don't worry", but then the strike came. This slap in the face came too quickly.

People's eyes focused on Li Weidong's face. They really wanted to see the Chinese people's embarrassed or panic expressions, but Li Weidong still looked calm.

Li Weidong took the written notice, glanced down for a few times, and then asked: "Mr. Norwood-Jewell, are you sure you can represent the 3,875 auto workers at the Bemher plant?"

"The 3,875 workers at the Bemher plant are represented by the United Auto Workers, and I am a representative of the United Auto Workers. So it can be said that I am the representative of the 3,875 workers at the Bemher plant!" Norwood-Jay

Will speaks very carefully.

Li Weidong nodded and continued: "In that case, I also have something to inform you, and I hope you can convey it to the workers. In view of the fact that the workers' strike will cause the factory to be unable to continue operating, thus causing losses to the company, and in order to reduce losses, so

I have decided that in the next week, the Bemher factory will lay off 5% of its employees to reduce the company's operating costs and reduce losses."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was in an uproar!

When automobile companies face general strikes, they have always chosen to negotiate with labor unions and then make compromises to resolve the strike issue.

This is true not only in the corporate industry, but also in other industries with unions in the United States. Even civil servants in the U.S. government will use strikes to negotiate with the government.

However, Li Weidong did the opposite. Not only did he not express his willingness to negotiate, he also resorted to layoffs!

In the past few decades, there have been countless strikes in the United States, but nothing like this has ever happened. This is completely beyond the normal understanding of Americans. In an instant, all the spotlights were focused on Li Weidong and flashed, almost blinding him.

Li Weidong’s alloy dog ​​eyes.

Li Weidong blinked, barely adapted to the flash, and then continued: "This 5% layoff will prioritize employees who do not comply with factory labor disciplines, such as those who are absent from work, and will be included in the priority list for layoffs! Related

A written notice will be sent to you later."

A strike organized by a trade union is obviously an act of absenteeism. Li Weidong's statement means that I will copy anyone who dares to strike!

After hearing this, Norwood Jewell's originally complacent expression suddenly turned gloomy.

Norwood-Jewell's original plan was to slap Li Weidong hard in the face by announcing the strike in front of so many reporters, so that he could gain more benefits in future negotiations.

Unexpectedly, instead of giving in, Li Weidong chose Zhengman Hard Steel and directly resorted to layoffs. Such a move that was beyond Norwood-Jewell's expectations also caused him to be in chaos.

"Under normal circumstances, shouldn't you give in immediately and express your willingness to negotiate? Why are you still arguing with me?" Norwood-Jewell was full of confusion.

Not far away, Bill Ford also gave a slight pause, and then a sarcastic smile appeared on his face.

"This Chinese guy is really tough. He doesn't know how powerful the Auto Workers union is! We, the three major American car companies, have competed with the Auto Workers union countless times over our century-old history, but we have never taken advantage! You are now

You are so stubborn, wait a few days and you will cry!"

…

As expected, the strike still happened, and Li Weidong's threat of layoffs had no effect.

At that time, Jaguar Land Rover had two main factories. One was the Halifield factory in Liverpool, England, which was also Jaguar's original factory.

The other is the Bemher factory in the United States. It was a factory established in the United States after Ford acquired Jaguar, and later integrated the Land Rover brand into it.

In the future, Jaguar Land Rover will have a third factory, which is the Changshu factory in China in cooperation with Chery.

Compared with those big car brands, Jaguar does not have many factories, such as General Motors, Ford and other companies. Their factories are located in more than a dozen states across the United States, as well as various overseas factories.

Moreover, the factories of big brands are also larger, such as Volkswagen's largest factory, which has more than 60,000 employees.

Jaguar Land Rover has many fewer factories and is much smaller in scale. This is mainly because Jaguar Land Rover, as a luxury car brand, does not have high sales, so it does not need to build so many factories.

The Bemher plant in the United States has approximately 4,400 employees, 3,875 of whom are front-line auto workers, and they are also among the groups on strike this time.

In fact, the main body of every strike must be front-line workers. After all, a strike in administrative and logistics positions will have little impact on the company's production, so it will not be effective.

What developed countries are short of are front-line blue-collar workers, and there is no shortage of office-based, administrative and back-office jobs. There are a lot of them on the job market. In places like the United States, where business is developed, even senior managers are not available in the market.

There are so many.

The American Automobile Federation has a century-old history of labor movements, and it is very familiar with leading strikes. It has clear arrangements for what it should do and what it should not do.

After the strike began, the Bemher factory also came to a standstill.

However, on the second day of the strike, a notice was posted at the Bemher factory. A list of thirty people appeared on the notice. This was the first list of people to be laid off.

A closer look revealed that these thirty people were all trade union cadres of the Bemher factory and the main leaders of the strike.

…

On the street in front of the Bemher factory, striking workers were holding signs. Hanks, the union leader, was one of them and stood at the front.

Suddenly, someone hurried over, approached Hanks, and said, "Hanks, a notice has just been posted in the factory, which is a list of layoffs. There are thirty people in total, and you are among them.

Got laid off by the factory!”

"Really?" Hanks had a calm expression. He had already received news from Norwood-Jewell and knew that the new boss planned to lay off 5% of his staff. As the leader of the union, he was among the first to be laid off.

It was normal to be laid off, and he had already been mentally prepared.

I saw Hanks standing up, waving to everyone, and then pretending to be giving a speech.

"Everyone, please rest assured that although the factory laid off me, our union is still there. The union will continue to fight for everyone's interests, and I, personally, will fight with you to the end as a union member!"

The surrounding crowd immediately burst into warm applause and cheers.

Faced with layoffs, these thirty people did not go to any labor arbitration. First, layoffs are commonplace in American companies. Second, strikes are absenteeism, and companies have legal reasons to lay off employees who are absent from work.

However, these thirty people are not panicking. They all have the backing of the trade union, and they will regard being laid off as a holiday. Anyway, when the union negotiates with the employer in the future, they will be invited back to the factory, and there may be more.

Easy position.

In American automobile companies, many union cadres do not work at all. Although they are called front-line automobile workers, their daily job is to pay attention to the welfare of workers. They drink tea and read newspapers to record workers' demands. The day passes.

And the company still has to pay them wages, which is equivalent to raising a group of white-eyed wolves who don't work and are dedicated to stumbling upon themselves.

This is also a shortcoming accumulated by American companies and labor unions over hundreds of years. In an industry with a long history like automobiles, the situation is particularly serious.

The next day, another layoff list of thirty people was posted, but the workers still did not panic at all.

The layoffs of 30 people will have no impact on the 3,875 workers.

In the next few days, the list of thirty people will be announced every day. For a whole week, even on weekends, a total of 210 people have been laid off, which is already more than 5%.

However, the workers remained indifferent.

The Auto Workers Union has a long history, and the workers are all seasoned. Many of them have participated in more than one strike, so everyone knows that based on past experience, as long as they persist, management will definitely compromise.

However, the next day, a new announcement appeared. In the next five days, the factory will continue to lay off 5% of its employees, about 200 people!