[Chapter 719: The Crumbling Giant]
Looking at the wrecked Jurassic Park, William White felt a bit uneasy. This was his first visit to the island since the hurricane hit.
"My God, it's horrible! Trees this thick have been uprooted."
Seeing the astonished expressions of the two beautiful women, a laugh slipped from William White. This certainly wasn't the worst disaster zone; Arizona had it much worse, where dozens had lost their lives.
What? Not that many deaths.
Cough, cough, the population density was different. If this hurricane had hit Mumbai, well, the casualty figures would have been astronomical.
Natural disasters operated on a scale of their own; the higher the population density, the greater the destruction. As for preventive measures, such things rarely existed. Hurricanes were manageable; as long as you stayed indoors, usually, you were safe.
Tornadoes, on the other hand, were a whole other story. Even in the future, early warnings would be minimal. Constructing a solid safety house was far more reliable than anything else.
"Master, the workers are already on the island; this time, they are all hired from Japan."
"Hurricanes come here every year, might as well find some competent people," William White was furious, and he had every reason to be. Losing a house was no big deal; they could just rebuild. But the fact that two lives were almost lost was outright infuriating.
Alright, William was a bit prejudiced; it wasn't necessarily the previous construction company's fault. Regardless, it was an undeniable fact that the construction companies in the U.S. were negligent.
Of course, they faced huge compensation claims and lost their eligibility to build forever. Because of this, William White started inspecting all industries under his wing. Funny enough, the deeper he looked, the more shocking things became.
Inspecting the rebuilding efforts was pure nonsense; he was just out with two beautiful women to unwind. Who goes on a yacht to inspect rebuilding? Isn't that just wasting time?
William White decided to seek some comfort; as for the reconstruction here, the Japanese people would surely do a decent job. They lived in such terrible environments, either dealing with earthquakes or typhoons; they were very professional in construction.
...
After sailing for more than half a month, William finally returned to his old nest in Los Angeles. As for the trouble with the Donkey guy, he didn't say anything, so it calmed down during this period.
William was certain that with this lesson learned, they had understood what he intended. What's more, other matters were whatever, but the media and entertainment sector? If they tested him there, it'd be war.
"Sir, Intel's P5 has officially been launched. The market reaction has been quite positive, though IBM is still a bit hesitant," Filson noted.
"Ha ha, losing five billion dollars a year, Filson, people call me William White the spendthrift, but look at the Big Blue -- talk about a true spendthrift example. Five billion bucks -- how many Boeing 747s is that? What on earth are these idiots doing?" William scoffed.
"Sir, I heard they're switching leadership. The president of American Express, yes, a guy named Lou Gerstner," Filson informed him.
"Gerstner? Nice, I know that guy. By the way, Filson, keep an eye on IBM's stock price," William replied.
"Sir, changing CEOs won't solve IBM's problems, right?"
"Ha ha, you're wrong, Filson. If the guy is trained internally, he's completely useless. If the board decides to hire an outsider, what do you suppose their first move will be?"
"Layoffs." Filson was indeed worthy of his role as chief strategist; once William spoke, he quickly grasped the situation's implications. Exactly; IBM was like a family business. The current CEO had no real authority over staffing matters. Not to mention downsizing, even switching positions would face numerous hurdles.
The most ironic part was that all of his technicians and executives were trained within the company. Think about it; everyone around him was a familiar face, some of whom had watched him grow. Who were they going to kick out of the company?
"Right, if you eliminated seventy percent of the staff, IBM would be profitable again in no time. Forget not just the quality of their products; even their software and tech departments could sustain the Big Blue."
"Seventy percent?" Filson was dumbfounded; if they really went through with that, tens of thousands would lose their jobs. And those compensation payouts...
"Sir, the compensation amounts could surpass what they lost last year. Does this Gerstner really have the guts to do that?"
"Filson, in your eyes, is five billion really that much? I can bet the five billion you think of is worlds apart from what Tom thinks. If Tom's company lost five billion, he'd just lay down and take it. But for you, that five billion might just be a figure. If the stock price doesn't change much and the company's future looks bright, you won't care about that number."
Initially, Filson didn't feel too concerned, but if they really lost five billion, he'd likely feel the pressure too. However, recalling this year's Legendary World and Viking Comics, which had massive losses, he maintained his composure.
"Sir, maybe there's something to that. Am I really not suited to manage a company?"
"Ha ha ha! What's Gerstner's role? He's a financier. What do your dozens of billions mean anyway? How much does American Express flow in a year? You could lose money this year and make it back next year -- that's the essence of a professional manager. They don't get bogged down in personal ties. If they need to turn a company around quickly, they have a million ways."
"I understand, sir. I'll have the investment department keep a close watch on them. Once news of layoffs leaks, their stock price is bound to plummet."
"Right, at that moment, you focus on buying shares. Ha ha ha, Gerstner, I have high hopes for you. Please don't let me down," William White licked his dry lips, a small action that made Filson's hair stand on end.
This young boss before him resembled a prehistoric beast, ready to pounce.
...
Speaking of IBM, it was indeed frustrating. Those ubiquitous personal PCs? Their full name was IBM-compatible machines.
A company that set industry standards could still incur a loss of five billion dollars. This bombshell unexpected explosion had startled the Washington.
Look at what NBC had to say; insinuating that using antitrust laws to strike out competitors was against fair competition principles. If this continued, American industry would cease to have great companies.
Well, insiders knew NBC was just talking nonsense. What would happen without IBM? Compaq and Dell hadn't emerged? Without antitrust laws, those two companies arguably would never have existed.
This statement had its merit, but how many insiders were there really? The opinions of the ordinary public counted more.
Conspiracy theories had a market everywhere. In the media field, this was especially apparent.
You say IBM's structure is bloated, and there's dead weight? No one pays that attention. You mention foul play and trickery? Now that's a different story. Ironically, the antitrust investigation against IBM had just concluded not long ago.
Ha ha, now NBC jumped in leading the charge -- does anyone dare to say there's no story behind the scenes?
A company valued at tens of billions had now lost half its stock price. Who would dare step up now? You wouldn't believe the shareholders would tear you apart.
Seeing IBM's significant losses, the only one likely smiling was Commodore. Commodore had been bullied by IBM for years; now, was that jerk finally going down?
*****
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