[Chapter 842: Collapse]
"Gold? Fine, I got burned by my guys. So, do you have a suitable economist you can introduce to?"
"Co on, you're heavily short in the futures market. How could you possibly be losing money? I'm just curious; you won't just dump all that gold, will you?"
"Please, you think I'm that stupid? It's not like I could mine much in a year. Besides, if it drops too hard, I'll just build a palace with the gold. Didn't King Solomon have a city made of gold?"
William White brushed off the jab at his friend, who indeed had a big gold mine. With prices so low, he simply wouldn't sell.
"William, let's focus on other things. What's happening in Texas?"
"What's there to talk about? The only growth area is Houston. With a few more supportive policies, the IT industry could be hot for years. As for those cows, whether they're there or not doesn't really matter."
"Right, my team ca up with a plan. Can you take a look?"
"Sure!"
Texas might have been the Bush family's stronghold, but honestly, it didn't have any new toys. Oil had been decent, but with the latest economic plunge, many small companies were bound to flop.
In 1995's Year of the Pig, there was supposed to be festivity in the big rabbit country. Too bad, the golden pig rolling around the rich didn't turn out as expected.
"Idiot, it's not even close to New Year's yet; can't you count?"
"Fine, the Year of the Dog is supposed to be lucky too, but where's the luck?"
After Christmas, the market hadn't cald down despite the recent break. The crisis in xico was rapidly spreading.
The exchange rate had halved, stocks were down by half, and the only thing rising was those damned prices.
With a staggering 50% CPI increase, it was evident that serious inflation had taken hold. There was no need to ntion it; even Tesla's factory was beginning to feel the strain.
"Raise wages? You've got to be kidding. If they don't co back to work, I'll pull my investnts right away. I run a factory to make a profit, not a charity. Tell them directly; if they don't return to their posts within twenty-four hours, they'll be fired."
"Um, boss, what about the union?"
"Forget that. If anything unpleasant happens, I'll sell off the factory in xico as a whole. It's just worker compensation, I can pay them that."
"Got it. I understand." Filson was sowhat speechless. This group of idiots didn't realize that the boss wouldn't cave to threats.
Tesla's factory in xico already paid above average wages, even if it was by just 2%.
Pay in U.S. dollars? Was he out of his mind?
The managent's salaries were paid by the parent company. These fools didn't grasp that Tesla's operations in xico had never been independently assessed--what right did they have to demand such elusive fairness?
William White recognized that the workers were indeed struggling. Half of their wealth had effectively vanished. In terms of purchasing power, the loss was even greater.
But so what? That was their problem, not his.
The crucial issue was that if he compromised here, other companies would shred him to bits.
Raising wages would certainly be a pleasant request. To put it clearly, if the exchange rate climbed back, could they demand a reduction? Of course not.
Aside from that crazy place, this kind of thing couldn't happen anywhere else.
William White was quite certain that he couldn't falter at this mont. If he left any ambiguity, it would drag on forever. People might complain about how lazy those workers were, but the reality was that South Aricans weren't exactly hardworking either.
In hotter regions, you couldn't expect too much diligence. In that heat, people's tabolism sped up; if they had a chance to lie down, they would choose that every ti.
"Sir, Tesla just issued a statent: if the situation in xico continues to worsen, they won't rule out selling the entire factory."
"Man, that's so typical of them."
"What else?"
"Cough, they've given them just twenty-four hours. They're refusing any negotiations. Anyone who doesn't return by then will be fired."
"Now that's sothing." The old folks at Morgan Stanley had taken their sweet ti. Most people would undoubtedly compromise; there was no question about it. Striking during a financial crisis took creativity.
When the Big Three automakers received this news, they also stumbled. "What the hell, they can't just act so willfully. Workers know the situation well. Once the unemploynt benefits run out, finding a new job is hardly likely."
However, only Tesla dared say that because they had a particularly wealthy boss. If it were one of the Big Three here, they simply wouldn't have the funds to make such payouts.
Ultimately, the Big Three had beco a burden on society. Without governnt assistance, they would all go down.
If William White had his way, he would cut the knot cleanly. The longer this dragged on, the less likely a resolution beca.
It really resembled a state-owned enterprise. The difference was that these guys certainly weren't lacking in pay.
Looking at General Motors later, they had the chance to escape disaster but refused to work without raising wages. After a few months of turmoil, it was all over for them.
"Have they managed to negotiate yet? Sorry, Alan, this group of guys is totally insane. By the way, is there a real chance Tesla would pull out?"
In the face of Clinton's fury, Greenspan could only express sympathy. Who would have thought this fire would reach the U.S.? Aside from Nasdaq holding steady, industrial indices plumted sharply.
"Mr. President, from the very start, they prepared for a potential exit. For Tesla, Europe is indispensable. Their U.S. market results might not even matter that much to them."
"Really, I don't get it. Are wages lower in Europe than ours?"
Greenspan truly didn't know what to say anymore. The automotive industry problems weren't really about the cars themselves. In xico, William White could confidently declare: "If you want to work, great; if not, pack your bags."
Did you see that? When he got angry, all the big shots would rush in to apologize. As for any unions? Forget it; if they couldn't get their act together, they would end up in jail.
Local officials were well aware that William White hadn't gained any real advantages. When you were establishing free trade zones, their factories were already operational.
If that factory vanished, they'd have to import a ton of cars. Rember, Tesla's economy cars were quite popular in xico.
The collapse of the financial market would certainly affect the real economy. But really, wasn't it too fast?
By the way, what was the IMF waiting for? Didn't they say a deal was in place? These big shots were really taking their ti; were they planning to give blood to a corpse?
To attract foreign investnt, every country had its own strategies. For example, Japan had its doubts about fully opening the financial sector. The U.S. had been doing this for hundreds of years; how could these little players have a chance?
Later events proved that they just couldn't keep up with the U.S. No matter how good their manufacturing was, they would lose it all in an instant.
And xico?
It wasn't that they didn't understand. In fact, they knew very well the risks of full openness when they signed.
Sadly, the U.S. hadn't given them the opportunity to develop and prepare. Just a year into that ridiculous North Arican Free Trade Agreent, they found themselves in dire straits.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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