"They can be excellent. The problem is they don't have the desire to be excellent in their work. Many of
them don't set a high standard for themselves,"
Jacob said. He already knew how this meeting would end. He wished he could just end it immediately.
"I think this discussion is going nowhere. You already made your plans. There's no need to further
stretch this meeting," Jonathan added, as he leaned back on his chair and stared at Jacob.
Jacob smiled in return, but did not reply. Jonathan was accurate in his observation. He was right that
the meeting was just Jacob's cover-up.
He had already decided what to do.
"What's your suggestion, Mr. Jacob?" asked an old director. There was reluctance in his voice, as well
as confidence. His respect towards the company's young leader was evident.
Jacob established a reputation in the past few years. People in the company either respected him or
were afraid of him.
Directors would pay attention to his every move. Even a slight cough from him would elicit a reaction
from the board members. And this meeting was turning out to be very serious.
Everyone in the room knew the solution to the company's problem would not be simple.
"We need to reduce the staff and lay off some people," Jacob uttered in a low voice. Even Cindy was
surprised when she heard him.
The room burst into an uproar. Directors were talking all at once. Each one aired their opinion and
disapproval. Mass lay-off was unheard of in the Shi Group. Nobody suspected it was the agenda for
today's meeting.
The Shi Group was a huge and prolific company. They didn't think it is necessary to fire people when
they could still pay them.
"I'm afraid that's not appropriate, Mr. Jacob."
"It will be difficult for people to find jobs once they are laid off."
"Other companies that are related to Shi Group will hear about this, and it will not be good on our
image."
"People have families to feed. Our own employees will hate us."
They kept talking simultaneously.
Jacob knocked on the table, like a judge who wanted order in his court. Everyone went silent.
"I know this decision is very sudden. But it has to be done. The company is not a charitable
organization. It doesn't make sense to keep so many people. We cannot afford to keep unnecessary
employees who are not doing their jobs."
Jacob paused before he continued. His tone was firm.
"The company will compensate those who have been loyal and have performed well for us. But we
really need to let go those who have not contributed anything ever since they joined the company. It
was okay to keep them in the past, when the company was still doing good. But what if they become a
liability in the future?"
Everyone was silent as Jacob glanced at them.
Suddenly, the directors started speaking again, all at once.
"Mr. Jacob, some of them don't have extensive skills. The position they have now is all they know.
They'll have trouble finding other jobs. Isn't it cruel for us to let them go?" a director asked anxiously.
"He's right, Mr. Jacob, that would be very unkind. After all, part of the company's core principle is to put
the people first," another director chimed in.
"We all think this is a bad idea, Mr. Jacob. It will definitely affect the company's unity and stability.
Besides, wouldn't it be difficult to identify which individuals contributed a lot and which ones gave a
poor performance?"
Jacob raised his right hand, telling them to stop, and they did. Even if they were disappointed, they
would still heed and listen to whatever Jacob said. By raising his hand, everyone knew Jacob was
about to speak, and no one dared interrupt or talk over him.
"I know it's cruel, but you have to understand that a company's development doesn't rely solely on
those people. This company needs new employees. We need a fresher perspective. We need to
change from the inside. We need new people who could co-carry the company, and not be a burden to
us, unlike the people we are going to let go."
Jacob expression was serious. He was making it clear to the directors what he wanted to do. But they
still thought he was being unreasonable.
They were frustrated and gritted their teeth. But they didn't say a thing. Their anger was fueled with the
reality that Jacob was deathly serious.
They now knew that this meeting was just a facade. There was nothing to discuss. There was only an
announcement.
But nobody could say it out loud, or argue against it with Jacob. He did, after all, seemingly discuss the
matter with them. But they failed to reach a diplomatic agreement.
"It seems this matter is already settled then. Mr. Jacob already thought it through. He has made up his
mind. There's no point in arguing it further. Is there anything else in the agenda to discuss?"
Jonathan said as he crossed his legs, laced his fingers, and leaned back on his chair. His posture was
leisurely, almost bored.
Jacob was speechless, and so were the other directors. They didn't see that coming from Jonathan.
They expected him to be the most dissatisfied with Jacob's decisions. They should be in a heated
argument by now.
"How are we going to proceed then? How do we tell them that they're getting fired? It's not very easy to
deliver such painful news to our staff, right?" muttered one of the directors. This form of massive lay-off
was like forcibly removing members of the board.
It may not be about them, but they were still going to be affected by it. After all, they had friends and
family who worked for the company, who were grateful that the directors gave them their jobs, and who
would be devastated once they were laid off.
The most frustrating part was they cannot do anything about it.
Thus, the board members were extremely saddened by all these. It was like a heaviness enveloped the
entire room.
Jacob looked at them and said, "In addition, I would still be relying on each and everyone of you. Most
people in this company still don't know the truth. I don't want them thinking that I'm making life difficult
for them because of personal grudges. I do hope that you could tell your staff that the company is in
trouble. That is why we are doing this difficult task."
He looked at them and added, "But I can promise that if the company stays afloat and performs well
again, they are welcome to come back and join us."
The room was quiet. All eyes were on Jacob. It would be foolish to believe his words.
But Jacob had to play the part. He was not stupid. He had to say something benevolent. But he really
needed to lay off people. They could not continue to pay unproductive staff members. He would not
make a charity out his company.
The directors' faces turned ghastly pale. Meanwhile, Jonathan sized him up, looked at him from head
to toe.
'He really did it, ' he thought. 'Jacob really had the guts to offend everyone.
He is also very calm. And it is difficult for me to read through him. Is this the reason why Jacob is better
than me? That Jacob could make difficult decisions, but still stay calm and collected, especially on high
pressure moments.'
"What do you mean by that, Mr. Jacob? We are getting more confused," a director inquired.
Jacob knew everyone's dissatisfaction over him. But he steeled himself against them. He did not allow
their dissatisfaction to affect him.
"I think the person who was responsible for hiring the staff should be the one to tell them. You all know
how they were accepted. Try as best as you could to persuade them into resigning. I don't think a direct
laid-off order from the company would be a good idea,"
Jacob said, as he clenched his fist on the table. His words shocked everyone. They started another
round of discussion. The room was in uproar.
"How can you make us responsible for this, Mr. Jacob? You want us, the very directors who hired them,
to be the ones who will fire them? You know how difficult it is for us. It would be better for you to kill us
instead,"
an older director complained with tears in his eyes. James looked at him but said nothing.
'What he said was true. But only the directors can be the one to perform this task.'
It was a painful thing to do, like surgery, but it was also necessary. It was, after all, for the good of the
company.
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