2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 570 Reorganization
Zhu Pei was somewhat uneasy.

After the change of ownership, Yangzi Automobile has become a de facto private enterprise. President Tan certainly wouldn't dare to fire all the employees, but firing some senior executives and replacing them with his own people is just a matter of a thought for him.

From the perspective of a former manager, he had to raise everyone's concerns, but this would also offend the new boss, and he didn't know if he would be the first to be fired.

Flash's takeover was too fast. Although there were some rumors among the senior management, no one had ever met this well-known new boss. Their understanding of him was only pieced together from the media.

However, his performance today is completely at odds with the image portrayed by the media.

"President Zhu will remain the Vice President of Yangzi Automobile, with the same job responsibilities as before. However, I will arrange a president for the company. You should have met him before; it's President Zhang Yong."

Zhu Pei was taken aback, not expecting that President Tan had kept him here to reassure him.

Tan Jincheng then noticed Zhu Pei's reaction and couldn't help but smile and say, "I'm just a bit domineering in my actions, but I'm not that petty. We're just looking at things from different perspectives. Mr. Zhu, just cooperate with me in taking over the company properly."

"Understood, I will cooperate fully." Zhu Pei couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Everyone knows this, so why did you have to say it out loud?

"I hope you can understand why I changed the name and shelved Feiyang. I am a businessman, and my first consideration is definitely my own interests. I cannot spend a lot of money to cultivate a brand that does not belong to me."

"To give an example, it's like two divorced couples forming a new family; each of them will care more about their own son."

Zhu Pei laughed too. It was true that the words were rough but the principle was sound. That was indeed the truth.

“I’ve looked at Feiyang’s models. They’re too rugged. They’re basically just off-road vehicles with some features stripped down to masquerade as city SUVs. It’s no wonder they don’t sell well. I don’t understand the technology, but I understand consumers. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t buy it.”

In this day and age, if you want to buy an SUV but know nothing about the different models, you can only search online for rankings and count from top to bottom, or listen to word-of-mouth recommendations from people around you.

Mainstream joint venture brands like the CRV, RAV4, and Korean brands like the IX35 either have price markups or are too expensive; there are really only a few reliable options.

As for domestic brands, they are currently all small-scale manufacturers, which do not pose much of a threat to joint venture brands.

While most domestic companies have made significant progress in their understanding of urban SUVs, they still largely follow the mindset of reducing the features of off-road vehicles to create urban SUVs, resulting in a complete lack of design. This is particularly evident in Changfeng's products.

Having been in the off-road vehicle business for so long, Changfeng's off-road vehicle DNA runs deep. No matter how much Li Jianxin boasts about their self-developed capabilities, the urban SUVs they produce are just hybrid off-road vehicles.

In Tan Jincheng's opinion, this method is not as good as Zhongtai 2008. At least it is cheaper. You spend 100,000 or 200,000 yuan to buy a gas guzzler. What does it look like? And the quality is not much better.

"Okay, I will cooperate with President Tan's arrangements." Zhu Pei nodded.

He was the vice president, and if he wanted to continue working, he had to take the blame for the boss. That must be the reason why the boss kept him on.

"When Zhang Yongming comes over tomorrow, I'll show you our new SUV design. It's highly original, and I think it has a good market prospect."

Although the design of the first model was based on the CR-V, it was actually based on many models from later generations in Tan Jincheng's mind, especially the second design of the Haval H6, whose front face was clearly different from the CR-V.

The lines are also much softer, and compared to current models, the design is much more stylish.

"Okay, I'll arrange for someone to pick up Mr. Zhang tomorrow. If there's nothing else, I'll head out now."

Zhu Pei hasn't seen the concept design of the SUV model by Weilai Auto, so he doesn't really understand what Tan Jincheng is saying. However, he does acknowledge that Tan Jincheng says he understands users, and Tan's company's products sell very well.

How can you sell a product if you don't understand users?

"Okay, go ahead and make the arrangements."

The reason Tan Jincheng made Zhang Yong arrive a day late was so that he could play the villain himself, and then show some favor after the new president took office, so that the resistance would be less.

By the afternoon, news that the new boss wanted to change the company's name and shelve the Feiyang brand spread throughout the company, causing a huge sensation, and even the Chuzhou government found out.

No one expected Tan Jincheng to be so domineering, doing two surprising things on his very first day in power.

Starting with electric fans, most employees, or even generations of their families, have worked in this industry their entire lives. Yangzi Automobile has been reorganized many times and the boss has changed several times, but the company name has always been used.

For employees who have relied on the factory for their entire lives, or even their families, it is still difficult to accept emotionally.

Zhu Pei had a headache; he had to handle this whole situation. For the lower-level employees, it was manageable; Boss Tan had promised a pay raise and would coordinate with the union and the government to resolve the issues of retired employees. After venting their emotions, it was over. However, for some more stubborn employees, the company name change was simply unacceptable.

Tan Jincheng's approach was simple: ruthless methods. If you didn't accept it, get out.

For private enterprises, Tan Jincheng never requires employees to treat the company as their home. Being capable and obedient is the most basic requirement. As for the so-called sense of ownership, that's all bullshit. Who the hell works from home?

The Chuzhou government also had a headache. This was the most difficult thing for them to accept. Yangzi was an old state-owned enterprise in Chuzhou with extraordinary symbolic significance in the local area. The arrival of a wealthy and powerful boss should have been a good thing for the company.

But no one expected that the new owner had no intention of developing the Yangzi brand at all, and was even in a hurry to change the name.

Logically speaking, since he's the boss, you can't object to whatever name he wants as long as it complies with laws and regulations. But this psychological barrier is hard to overcome. Judging from his attitude today, there's no point in talking to him anymore.

"Well, let's see if he can manage the emotions of the company's employees. There's really no way we can interfere too much in this matter."

Most importantly, the information conveyed by Tan Jincheng at the meeting indicated that at least 5 million yuan would be invested in Yangzi Automobile every year for industrial upgrading.

Tan Jincheng is wealthy and has a good reputation for investment. He is also a native of the province and has certain resources in the province. All of these have been brought in, so no one would want to offend him.

Let's wait and see. If he can handle it, then we'll have no choice but to let him. For the sake of that annual investment of no less than 5 million yuan, let's make the changes.

"At such a young age, he has managed to successfully run a listed company and a large manufacturing enterprise. This young man is truly remarkable."

Judging from the news that comes from Yangzi Motors from time to time, this young man really has both the means and the execution ability.

"Don't make trouble here. Talk to the HR department. If anyone doesn't accept, just submit their resignation. I'll approve it today. If the HR department is unwilling to cooperate, you can take over their job."

At noon, Tan Jincheng stayed at Yangzi Automobile and temporarily requisitioned Zhu Pei's office as his workspace. After lunch, he planned to take a nap, but employees kept coming over to reason with him.

Mr. Tan was getting annoyed, so he ordered Lai Yiu-fai to stand guard at the door and not let anyone in casually. He then asked Tsang Kei-cheung to cooperate with the personnel department.

"By the way, tell General Manager Zhu to organize a meeting of the management team. I'm only giving them three days. After three days, the company must return to normal production. Also, have the HR department send over the personnel files this afternoon."

Tan Jincheng is very busy and doesn't have much time to waste here. If this problem can't be solved within three days, he will have to consider replacing him.

There's no time for rest; Tan Jincheng needs to sort out the information on over 500 employees and retired staff as soon as possible.

Tomorrow, Zhang Yong will come to assist him with his work. In addition, the finance team from Flash Group will come to take over the finance department of Yangzi Automobile. Also, the elites from ByteDance Engine will come to analyze the company's costs and business.

Unreasonable costs were cut, and unprofitable businesses were shut down. A sweeping reform of Yangzi Automobile officially began.

Zhu Pei was under a lot of pressure. He was a native of Chuzhou, and he didn't know how many old friends he would offend by doing this. For a moment, he even didn't want to do it anymore, but he had no choice but to do it.

Even if he has to go through the resignation process, he still has to finish the work he's currently doing.

That night, Zhu Pei couldn't sleep. He experienced the difference between state-owned enterprises and private enterprises for the first time, and also witnessed the domineering nature of his new boss, who only gave him three days.

Although the new boss's secretary spoke politely, his implication was that if things couldn't be resolved in three days, not only he, but the entire management team of Yangzi Motors would be criticized.

"This job is really tough."

The next morning, before leaving home, Old Zhu said to his wife with a wry smile.

"It's not that complicated. Everyone's just grumbling, but there are only a few real troublemakers. If you fire the troublemakers, you fire them. Besides, this is a good opportunity for you to establish your authority."

In small towns, even the smallest news spreads very quickly. If someone's wife cheats on him, the whole town knows about it the next day.

Tan Jincheng caused a huge stir in the company on his first day in charge. Whether or not they were employees of Yangzi Motors, everyone was eager to spread the news and wanted to see how things would develop.

Zhu Pei was speechless. He knew all too well that this was a good opportunity for him to establish his authority. Having only recently become vice president, he belonged to the Yangtze Motors faction and didn't have much say in the company.

Fortunately, Zhang Yong came today, so his pressure is a little less.

(End of this chapter)