534: A group of people panicking

Ren Yi clearly understood that the software development department was primarily composed of talent in the Zhi Jia System field, who were highly sought after in the current market.

Especially those who had been gilded at Fenglei were practically hot commodities for various car manufacturers, who were scrambling to snatch them up.

In the past, Fenglei's good benefits and treatment made it difficult for employees to be poached.

Now it was different; as soon as the salary reduction notice came out, some people resigned on the very same day.

There was nothing they could do; they had too many choices, so naturally, they would work for whoever paid them more.

However, when Ren Yi heard that the turnover rate for frontline workers was very low, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As the saying goes, it's easy to find a college student for three thousand yuan, but you can't find a migrant worker for three thousand yuan.

This meant that college students were now in abundance, and each one was pampered, arrogant, and picky about finding work, completely unwilling to endure hardship.

This led to many factories being unable to recruit people.

Ren Yi did not lack technology, so those who left could leave.

As long as the hardworking frontline workers remained, Fenglei would not collapse for the time being.

After all, Fenglei's current technical difficulties were all in the assembly part.

At this point, Yang Wei continued, saying,

"Mr. Ren, we also spoke with the colleagues who resigned, and most of them cited reduced salaries and benefits, and not seeing a future here, as their reasons."

Ren Yi just smiled.

Everyone has their own ambitions; it's futile to force them.

Only those who remain after the great sifting are Fenglei's true guarantee.

Someone who cannot share the company's hardships, why should they share its glory?

If someone had said such words before, Ren Yi would have only thought the other person was an idiot.

But ever since he took this position, Ren Yi's perspective had gradually changed.

No one is always well; no flower is always red.

Life has its ups and downs, and isn't running a business the same?

Zhang Qiang, who was beside him, said at this moment,

"Mr. Yang, actually, this salary reduction is only a 20% decrease. Compared to other companies, we are still not bad, and this is just a warm-up; the truly harsh part is yet to come.

However, with such a large number of employees resigning at the very beginning, I think there must be other reasons."

Yang Wei understood the implication in his words: a high employee turnover rate should not be entirely blamed on the salary reduction.

He did not get angry but explained,

"Mr. Zhang is right. We conducted a survey, and it turns out many new energy companies have recently been established domestically.

Many brands are cooperating with the government, have strong backgrounds, and abundant capital, and therefore offer very high salaries and benefits.

These companies most need technical talent, so it's not surprising that there's serious employee turnover in the R&D department."

Ren Yi did not want to hear the two of them argue and directly interrupted, saying,

"Regarding this matter, I don't think the salary reduction is a major contributing factor. The salaries and benefits offered by those car companies outside are far inferior to ours at Fenglei.

Those who left probably felt they had learned the technology and were eager to advance, so they went to these emerging new energy brands to become leaders."

He paused for a moment, then continued,

"Let those who left go. For the remaining people, give them an extra half month's salary this month. Zhang Qiang, draft a thank-you email expressing gratitude for everyone's recent efforts.

Additionally, Mr. Yang, add a notice. Say that the company will increase quarterly bonuses next year, issued every three months."

Yang Wei said,

"Okay, I will draft the email immediately and send it to the company group chat."

Ren Yi then said,

"Alright, implement this as soon as possible. Assistant Zhang Qiang and I still have some things to discuss."

Yang Wei agreed and walked out.

As soon as Yang Wei left, Zhang Qiang immediately said,

"Mr. Ren, we should be tightening our belts right now, so why are we giving out bonuses at this time? What's the point of the salary reduction then?"

Ren Yi explained,

"It's not much money, only a little over a billion yuan for everyone combined. This way, everyone will have something to look forward to and naturally gain some confidence in the company. What we need most right now is to stabilize morale.

It's almost the end of the year, which is the peak season for resignations and job hopping. If we increase some benefits at this time, we can naturally stabilize everyone and shatter the rumors about Fenglei's financial difficulties."

Ren Yi paused, then added,

"Even if we can't shatter them, it's good to alleviate them for a while."

Zhang Qiang said with some worry,

"But this is ultimately just drinking poison to quench thirst; we will still be very passive."

Ren Yi smiled and said,

"If we can alleviate it for a while, it will buy us more time.

When my plan succeeds in the second half of the year, all difficulties will be resolved."

Zhang Qiang then said,

"Our company account only has 60 billion yuan in cash flow. Future project and R&D costs will only get higher and higher. You're like someone who doesn't know the cost of living when not managing the household."

Ren Yi looked at him speaking in a somewhat Spoiled (pampered) manner, much like a eunuch from the Eastern Depot, and joked,

"You're being stingy!"

Zhang Qiang chuckled and said with a smile,

"Alright, alright, you're the head of the household, you call the shots."

...

Soon it was the beginning of the month, and Fenglei's employees were both surprised and delighted.

Everyone said there was a collective salary reduction, so why was their salary more than before?

Suddenly, Ren Yi's thank-you letter also became more sincere.

In addition, HR issued a notice stating that a quarterly bonus would be added this year, issued once a quarter, with the bonus linked to salary.

All the workers were overjoyed.

Some employees who had originally been preparing to resign instantly abandoned their thoughts of leaving.

Counting on their fingers, they ultimately felt that the cost of finding a new job was too high, and they might not even find one better than this, so it wasn't worth it.

Of course, this bonus did not include those who had already submitted their resignations.

Those people were naturally greatly disappointed and felt some regret.

After stabilizing the morale of the employees, Fenglei returned to its usual busy scene.

Of course, behind the calm was a surging tide, and some forces began to stir.

How many people were eyeing Fenglei like a piece of cake.

Financially, Ren Yi desperately saved every penny of expenditure, even demanding that various departments reduce employee business trips to cut expenses.

However, despite this, for such a large company, money still flowed like water; even a printing press couldn't print that fast.

As a Harvard graduate, she naturally knew that what she was doing were all ineffective solutions, but she couldn't find a better way.

After all, the projects Fenglei invested in had only recently started, and they could not achieve profitability in the short term.

Not only were they not making money, but they also had to keep investing money. Stopping was not an option, as it could make previous investments go to waste.

It felt like the financial report was purely expenditure items; no matter how much they saved, it would only delay the time when Fenglei's reserves bottomed out.

By the end of the year, Fenglei's books showed less than one billion yuan in cash, not even enough to pay salaries.

Zhang Qiang reported this to Ren Yi, but Ren Yi showed no sign of panic.

Instead, he told him to relax, stating that everything was within his plan.

Zhang Qiang believed him, but still did not forget to remind him,

"Our cash on hand isn't even enough to pay next month's salaries, and with the Lunar New Year approaching, not having money for employees to go home for the holidays can easily cause widespread unrest."

Ren Yi nodded, confidently saying,

"These are minor matters; I will handle them."

However, inwardly, he was extremely flustered.