Return to 2000: Captain of the Great Powers

Chapter 365 Win the A350 project!

In the office of the chief operating officer of Airbus, howls erupted with great intensity, and it seemed that a gunpowder quarrel was going on.

"This incident was caused by me. If they want to hold them accountable, then they should fire all the presidents of the Spanish and German branches instead of just holding me accountable." Ronnie Covein flushed with emotion Extremely intense.

In front of him, the chief financial officer Neo Otto's face was also quite gloomy: "You don't have to doubt this, the presidents of the Spanish and German divisions will all be fired, and the chief engineers of the Spanish and German parts factories will also be resigned .This time it is not aimed at you, and all high-level officials involved in this matter will receive the most severe punishment."

Now, Ronnie Covein was speechless.

The presidents of Airbus in Spain and Airbus in Germany are the same as him in terms of management level, but the actual authority is higher than him. After all, he is a big official in Xinjiang, and most of the time he does not need to be restricted by the headquarters board of directors.And he, the chief operating officer of the headquarters, has to watch the face of the board of directors all day long, and is tied up in doing things.

That's it, the presidents of Airbus in Spain and Airbus in Germany were not spared. It seems that the board of directors has gone crazy this time.

However, this is also normal. Since the incident was exposed, the stock price of Airbus has plummeted all the way, and it can't be stopped.Originally, Airbus’s capital chain was tense because of the excessive investment in the A380. Now that the A380 has been postponed for nearly a year, the capital chain is no longer tense, but is facing the risk of breaking.

If this was the case ten years ago, Airbus was still in the development stage, and the situation was quite dire. It once required subsidies from various participating countries in Europe.But it’s different now, Airbus is no longer a baby, and if it dares to ask other countries for subsidies, if it is exposed again, it will have a great impact on Airbus’ reputation.

Without the bottom-up subsidies from the governments of various countries, can the Airbus board of directors be in a hurry?Boeing on the other side of the ocean has just annexed McDonnell Douglas for a few years, and they don't want to be the second McDonnell Douglas.

"Ronnie, you have leadership responsibilities in this matter, and it is impossible to clean it up. However, there is no one-size-fits-all on the board of directors. Unlike the firing of the presidents of the Spanish and German divisions, you can choose to stay at the headquarters. , but the management level will be lowered.”

Ronnie Covein's eyelids twitched a few times: "Downgrade, downgrade to what?"

"Director." Neo Otto said in a deep voice, "Can you accept it?"

The corner of Ronnie Covein's mouth twitched. The management structure of Airbus headquarters is very complicated, but there is probably such a distinction.In addition to the board of directors as the highest authority, the top management is the chief executive officer (CEO), and the following are executive vice presidents, such as the chief operating officer of Ronnie Covein and the chief financial officer of Neo Otto.

In fact, sometimes the CEO is also called the president, such as the top management of Airbus in Spain and Airbus in Germany is the president.

Nominally, the management level of the presidents of Airbus in Spain and Airbus in Germany is higher than the chief operating officer of the headquarters of Ronnie Covein.However, because Ronnie Covein is at the headquarters, while Airbus of Spain and Airbus of Germany are divisions, the management level of the divisions has been lowered by at least half a level, so there is not much difference in the judgment of the management level among the three.

As far as the management structure of Airbus headquarters is concerned, the executive vice president is under the CEO, the vice president is under the executive vice president, the vice president is divided into senior vice president and vice president, and the director is under the executive vice president, which is also divided into two levels. Directors and directors, and then down to department managers.

If according to Neo Otto's intentions, Ronnie Covein was directly knocked down from one person below one person to above ten thousand to a lower level in the middle class, this gap is a bit too big.

"There is no turning point?" Ronnie Covein asked in a low voice.

"No, this is still the best result." Neo Otto said firmly.

Ronnie Covein sat down on the sofa with a blank expression.Neo Otto has a channel, which makes it easier to hear the thoughts of the board of directors. Since he is so sure, there should be no doubts.

"Director ha ha" Ronnie Covein had a sad expression on his face. He spent a lot of effort to grab the A380 project, but it turned out that this project did not become the key to his further progress, but rather his reminder.

Neo Otto whispered: "Now there are no executives missing in major companies in the industry. If you want to leave, I'm afraid there is no good place to go, and your age"

No matter which company in the world, 35 years old is a hurdle, there is no difference.For a giant company like Airbus, the average age of its employees is only 33 years old.Of course, as a management, this age line is higher.

However, it is undeniable that under the condition of unwillingness to downgrade, the older you are, the less popular you are in the job market, especially because Ronnie Covey's resume was stained by the A380 incident, which is even more difficult. is an extremely obvious disadvantage.

How can Ronnie Coveyn not understand, that's why he is so depressed, it seems that he has no other way out except accepting relegation.

However, in the past, in the process of climbing, he defeated many competitors.These people were not as good as him in the past, but they were vice presidents or senior directors anyway, and it was not easy to judge him as an ordinary director.

This is no longer a matter of willingness or not, but his career as a director in the future will be very, very miserable.

Ronnie Covein sat on the sofa in a daze, without saying a word.Neo Otto next to him didn't know how to persuade him. He knew the determination of the board of directors, and there was no possibility of any change.

"Is there really no other way?" Obviously, Ronnie Covein still couldn't accept such a result, even if there was a little hope, he still wanted to pursue it.

However, Neo Otto just shook his head.

However, at the next moment, a chuckle came from outside the door: "Mr. Covein, of course there is another way."

As the falsely concealed door was pushed open, an elegant white old man stepped in.

The old man's hair is already completely white, but it has been meticulously arranged. He is lined with a white turtleneck sweater and covered with a dark gray windbreaker. Just by standing there, there is a feeling of "this is a gentleman" a feeling of.

"Nicholas Halliway." The old man bowed gracefully, "The CEO of Shengming Fund."

"Sheng Ming Fund?" Neo Otto was taken aback: "Is this Chinese pinyin?"

When referring to the name of the fund, the word Shengming is not a specific noun, it sounds more like a pinyin.Moreover, Neo Otto knew some Chinese, so this feeling was extremely strong.

Nicholas Halliway spread his hands and said with a smile, "This is the name chosen by our boss. To be honest, I don't know it very well, let alone the meaning."

"Shengming Fund, Shengming" Neo Otto kept opening and closing his five fingers on his right hand: "Just now I got news from the stock department that there is a capital buying a large number of our stocks, which temporarily stabilized our stock price."

Nicholas Halliway lowered his head slightly: "You guessed right, Mr. Otto. You are as smart as your father."

"You know my father?" Neo Otto was a little surprised: "I've never heard my father mention you."

"Of course he won't take the initiative to mention me, but you can ask him." Nicholas Halliway laughed: "If there is nothing to do today, I can talk to you about your father, but if there is something to do, I'd better go ahead It’s better to be honest.”

Since he was his father's old friend, Nanio Otto still expressed enough respect: "Mr. Halliway, what's the matter with you, about our stocks?"

"We are a for-profit financial fund, of course there is only one purpose, and that is to make money." Nicholas Halliway found a seat casually and sat down, looking extremely calm in front of the two Airbus executives.

Ronnie Covein frowned: "But I know about famous funds in the world, and I have never heard of Shengming Fund."

At this time, Neo Otto lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Ronnie, they bought my [-] million US dollars of stock in one go."

Now, Ronnie Covain immediately fell silent.

"Mr. Covain, you haven't heard of it. It doesn't mean that there is no or doesn't exist. It's just because your level is not enough." Nicholas Halliway snapped his fingers, and there was a lot of arrogance in his words, as if the Airbus The chief operating officer of the company is nothing more than that in his eyes.

Ronnie Covein was already very angry because of the demotion, but when he heard Nicholas Halliway's ridicule, his anger quickly flared up.Fortunately, Neo Otto stopped them in time, otherwise a fight would have started on the spot.

"Mr. Halliway, in this situation, can you get straight to the point?" Neo Otto asked dryly.

Nicholas Halliway looked at Neo Otto quite amusedly: "You are very different from your father, which is interesting. Get straight to the point? Of course it's okay."

After a short pause, Nicholas Halliway raised his eyebrows: "In your current situation, [-] million US dollars cannot stabilize your stock price. You must know this."

Neo Otto nodded: "This... we know."

The delay in the delivery of the A380 has not been resolved, and the $[-] million rescue investment is not enough, so the stabilization of Airbus' stock price at this moment is only temporary and will not last long.

"The A380 delivery delay should be a fact, right? There will be no room for change?"

Hearing Nicholas Halliway's question, Neo Otto and Ronnie Covein looked at each other, but no one answered.

Nicholas Halliway looked at the expressions of the two, clapped his hands and smiled: "Why, are you still hiding it at this time? You don't need to talk about it, but for me, it's just a matter of taking a little time."

Neo Otto hesitated for a moment, this is really not something worth keeping secret.Not long ago, Airbus notified major airlines about the delayed delivery of the A380.Although in the notification document, Airbus has repeatedly stated that the main reason for the delay of the A380 is the complexity of the aircraft itself and the customization requirements of various airlines.

However, there is no impenetrable wall in the world.Besides, the A380 project was originally stared at by many competitors with a magnifying glass.
Besides, the part matching caused by the software version is such a dramatic mistake that Airbus itself is talking about it in full swing. Can this matter be covered?

In fact, anyone who has some knowledge in the industry basically knows the real situation of the A380.

"Mr. Halliway, we have already communicated with the major airlines, and there will be no major changes."

Neo Otto's words were relatively tactful, but Nicholas Halliway didn't care about this: "Even if the root cause cannot be changed, then only a large amount of capital can be used to stabilize it. Five hundred million US dollars is not enough. The hole is not small."

The expression on Neo Otto's face was a little awkward. In fact, an important reason for this embarrassment was Airbus itself.

Airbus's best-selling 320 series even crashed during the test flight, but it still didn't cause a big impact.Because when the 320 series was released, Airbus hadn't reached the point where everyone was looking forward to it, and something went wrong, and the impact was controllable.

Nowadays, Airbus is already a leader in civil aviation airliners. If something goes wrong, the degree of impact is naturally different.And, to make matters worse, Airbus has gone too far for the A380.

This is actually an amplifier, and some advantages will be amplified a lot, but at the same time, there are some disadvantages, which will also cause great concern, just like this delay in delivery.

In fact, many well-known models have been delayed in delivery, but the impact of the A380 is too bad this time.

Nicholas Halliway said it well, this time the A380 delayed delivery has been a bit big, otherwise it would not have dealt with so many executives.

Looking at the black faces of Neo Otto and Ronnie Covein, Nicholas Halliway smiled and said: "I heard that you have seriously overrun the A380 R&D investment, isn't that a lot of money?" nervous?"

"I don't need Mr. Halliway to worry about this." Ronnie Covein said coldly.

At any time, the financial status of a company needs to be kept secret. This is equivalent to a person's hole card, but it cannot be seen clearly by others.

"100 billion!" Nicholas Otto raised a finger: "We will use 100 billion US dollars to help you plug this hole."

"100 billion!" Neo Otto's eyelids twitched. This Shengming Fund is too rich. It is 100 billion U.S. dollars, which can no longer be described as rich and powerful.

Ronnie Covein was also terrified when he heard it. The promise of 100 billion US dollars was just let go?This is too exaggerated, is the money printed?

Of course, if it's $100 billion, it's really good for stabilizing Airbus' stock price.

"Maybe I'm really ignorant, but if you put out 100 billion US dollars at one time, this...is definitely a world-class financial fund, but I really haven't heard of it at all." Ronnie Covein looked at Neo Otto: "Neo, have you heard?"

Neo Otto shook his head: "No. Mr. Halliway, it's not that we deliberately question you, but the $100 billion bailout will definitely come with some conditions, right?"

"That's natural. We are not engaged in charity. If we have contributed, we will naturally ask for something in return." Nicholas Halliway laughed and said, "It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of us. It doesn't matter whether you choose to cooperate or not. In other words, you You can borrow from the bank to tide over the difficulties. However, judging from the performance of the stock market today, you Airbus has not yet rescued yourself. I am afraid that you do not have much money. If the bank is willing to give you more loans, it is almost the same now. There is still action. But, is there any?"

The A380 incident this time is not a trivial matter. A giant group like Airbus must have a risk management and control agency.Whenever the stock price shows signs of collapse, it is time to invest money to stabilize the stock price, even if it is borrowing money.But until Shengming Fund purchased a large number of Airbus stocks, Airbus itself still did not make any big moves, which means that it is really out of money.

The crazy overspending of the A380 during its development has exhausted the credit lines that banks can give Airbus.

If you want to get a loan again, the bank itself can't stand it anymore.

Neo Otto is Airbus' chief financial officer and has the best knowledge of Airbus' financial situation.In the long run, Airbus's financial situation is actually not a big problem. Even if the A380 has a large overrun, but thanks to the strong performance of the A320, Airbus is actually quite comfortable without this incident.

But reality has no ifs.

From a personal point of view, Neo Otto hopes to receive US$100 billion in funding from the Shengming Fund.The question is what the Shengming Fund wants and what are the conditions. As Nicholas Halliway said, they are not doing charity, they are businessmen who can't make money.

Neo Otto was worried that Shengming Fund wanted to exchange some core assets from Airbus.

That is the so-called looting while taking advantage of the fire.

Neo Otto pondered for a moment: "Mr. Halliway, if it is convenient, can you tell us about the conditions of your funding?"

"Mr. Otto, although your character is more likable than your father's annoying miserliness and cunning. However, you are still far behind your father in terms of observing the situation."

Neil Otto was not annoyed by Nicholas Halliway's negative evaluation of his father, but asked humbly: "Mr. Halliway, is there any problem with the conditions I consulted with you?"

"Of course!" Nicholas Halliway laughed and said, "What's the use of asking, do you have a choice?"

Neo Otto understood, but still dealt with it calmly: "Although it is difficult to obtain the support of the bank now, it is not impossible. Moreover, when it comes to certain moments, we can obtain it from other channels."

"Does the other channel mean obtaining government subsidies?" Nicholas Halliway chuckled lightly: "If you are still willing to offer your hand now, it will really open my eyes."

When Airbus was just starting out, it was overwhelmed by Boeing. It was normal to receive government subsidies for many years, just like a baby needs milk.However, there is no reason to drink milk when you are young and middle-aged, especially when everyone around you knows about your adulthood.

However, when it comes to life and death, life is always more important than face.

But it seems that Nicholas Halliway meant not a question of whether he could drink milk, but a question of whether he had enough milk.

"If your holes are too big, then your own value will be greatly reduced. At the beginning, the governments of various countries subsidized you, not for the sake of letting them wipe your ass in the future."

Neo Otto said coldly: "This is only a temporary difficulty. Our value is obvious to European countries. At certain critical moments, I believe they will assist us."

"But what if the hole is beyond what they are willing to fill?" Nicholas Halliway laughed: "Do you think they will save you at the cost of harming the domestic economy?"

At this time, Ronnie Covein was very dissatisfied: "I admit that this A380 mistake has hit us hard. However, this incident alone has caused irreparable loopholes, Mr. Halliway, do you want to Is it too much?"

Today is different from the past. Airbus is a giant comparable to Boeing, and its room for trial and error is much larger than that of many other companies.

Ronnie Covein doesn't think this will put Airbus out of a life-and-death dilemma, let alone make European countries reluctant to help.

Nicholas Halliway looked at Ronnie Covain pitifully: "You really don't know anything."

"What?" Ronnie Covey had a few blue veins on his forehead, but this time he endured it: "Why, what is Mr. Halliway talking about?"

"I can't talk about it, I just want to ask you, do you know about the fact that Boeing was shorted before?"

Neo Otto was taken aback: "You mean a Boeing 737 caused by a damaged fuselage?"

That's right, this 737 is the aircraft number 1566, that is, the Blue Sky aircraft with the elevator sensor centering device problem.

In this aircraft, due to the problem of the elevator feel centering device, when the pilot is performing normal push-pull control, the elevator will travel beyond the pilot input.It is for this reason that the plane wiped its tail during a certain takeoff.

After take-off, due to the effect of the pressurization system, a huge pressure difference acts on the damaged part of the tail, causing the fuselage to rupture.

However, the fuselage does not generate lift, so a damaged fuselage has little effect on lift loss compared to a broken wing.The real problem was that the plane was stuck in a huge pitch attitude, and finally Xu Cang landed in an inverted attitude.

This incident did not cause much sensation at the time, but suddenly one day soon after, the incident fermented and began to arouse public doubts about the strength of the 737 fuselage.

This incident caused Boeing's stock price to suffer a lot. In order to solve the matter, Boeing approached Xu Cang and wanted to buy 1566 FDR from Xu Cang at a high price.However, Xu Cang did not carry out this transaction at that time, but instead changed the conditions, thus obtaining the genuine authorization of some Boeing aviation materials.

This incident is famous because it is an obvious short-selling event.

From a technical point of view, the 1566 incident does not prove that the 737 really has any major problems.But under the hype of one or some hidden forces, it has caused a wide range of doubts about the strength of the 737 fuselage.

The 737 is Boeing's flagship product, and there can be no problems with this stuff.At that time, Boeing also took a lot of trouble to solve this matter.

However, even if things calmed down in the end, the capital force that shorted Boeing still had no clues.

However, what is certain is that the capital is very strong.Relying solely on the 1566 incident can make Boeing extremely uncomfortable, it is simply unimaginable.

It is interesting now that Nicholas Halliway brings up the matter again.

Neo Otto's reaction was also quick: "Is it you?"

However, Nicholas Halliway did not directly answer Neo Otto's question, but chuckled and said, "You don't have to cooperate with us, but the $100 billion will definitely be used. Of course, the money will not It is used to stabilize your stock price, but you will also experience what Boeing encountered back then. However, compared to Boeing’s handling, your matter this time seems to be easier to handle.”

Hearing this, Ronnie Covey was shocked: "You are shorting Boeing! This... this is crazy. No, you have already invested [-] million U.S. dollars in it. If our stock price crashes, your [-] million U.S. dollars will Didn't it go in vain?"

"The [-] million dollars is nothing compared to the benefits you get after you fall." Nicholas Halliway looked at Ronnie Covein calmly: "Besides, Boeing should be very willing to cooperate with us."

"However, you were the ones who stabbed Boeing back then, are you not afraid that we will tell Boeing?"

Nicholas Halliway raised his finger: "Mr. Covain, I advise you not to do this. You are losing your only chance to recover. Of course, if Mr. Covain is really that stupid, that's okay. Compared with the importance of killing you, Boeing will let go of some past grievances."

"But you finally stopped, didn't you?" Neo Otto said solemnly, "In other words, you didn't actually act that strong."

During the period when Boeing was short-sold, even though Boeing finally produced the data of 1566 flying upside down when the fuselage was damaged, the actual effect was not as good as expected.However, for some reason, the force that originally shorted Boeing stopped without warning, which is puzzling.

However, in Neo Otto's view, this is a manifestation of the lack of strength of Shengming Fund.

However, Nicholas Halliway laughed loudly: "Do you think so? However, this is also normal. At that time, Boeing was already losing steadily, but why did they let them go in the end? Yes, I am not either I understand very well."

Neo Otto frowned: "What?"

"Because our boss decided to let Boeing go at the last minute." Nicholas Otto shrugged: "It's that simple, although I still don't understand the reason for doing so."

Neo Otto's eyes widened suddenly: "Who is your boss?"

"That's not what you should care about." Nicholas Halliway seemed a little impatient: "I've said enough. In your state, you have too many problems."

Neo Otto paced back and forth in the office, some things were really difficult to decide, and finally he settled down: "Mr. Halliway, no matter whether it is useful or not, and whether there is a choice, I still want to hear your conditions."

Nicholas Halliway took off his hat: "Since you are so curious, it's okay to talk about it. We will commission you Airbus to design, manufacture, and release a wide-body aircraft in the name of Airbus. The 100 billion US dollars will not be repaid later , as the research and development investment of that aircraft. Of course, as a partner and brand provider, you can get [-]% of all the profits of that aircraft.”

"What!" Neo Otto fantasized about many possible conditions, but he never imagined that it would be this: "Mr. Halliway, you mean to use our brand and the framework of your requirements, let us Design and build a new widebody?"

Nicholas Halliway smiled slightly: "That's right, that's what it means."

Not to mention Neo Otto, Ronnie Covein was also a little speechless: "Aren't you a fund? How did you get involved in the real aircraft industry?"

Shouldn't a financial fund use some capital means?
How come there are still people who do business in person, even if they are commissioned, this is too outrageous.

"Of course it made money." Nicholas Halliway always had a smile on his face: "However, there is one thing that needs to be corrected. Although we are the investment party of this project, we are not the main body of cooperation with you."

Neo Otto was stunned: "What do you mean, you only invest in the early stage, and someone else makes money?"

Hey guys, what kind of business genius is this?
I will invest the money, and give the money to others?

Nicholas Halliway smacked his lips: "Although it's a bit unbelievable, it's just like this."

Ronnie Covein laughed: "The end of a fund is to become an industry, and you donate it to others for free. It's really what you said so swearingly. Have you figured out the name of the new plane?"

"Bingo!" Nicholas Halliway snapped his fingers again: "The name is indeed thought of."

At this moment, Ronnie Covein was really stunned. He thought that Nicholas Halliway was just joking, but he didn't expect it to be true.

He tentatively asked, "What?"

Nicholas Halliway thought for a moment: "It seems to be called .A350."

"A350." Ronnie Covein chewed on the model: "Is this a four-engine widebody?"

"No!" Nicholas Halliway shook his head, "It's a twin-engine wide-body machine."

Ronnie Covein's expression turned a little strange. Judging by Nicholas Halliway's appearance, it seemed that he was really thinking about this matter seriously.

If it is a twin-engine wide-body aircraft, it is not like the A380 or B737, but more like the A330.Still, it does seem odd that these words are coming from the manager of a financial fund.

Glancing at Neo Otto, Ronnie Covein asked the next question: "Who is the ultimate beneficiary?"

Nicholas Halliway didn't pause at all this time: "Perhaps you should be familiar with him, that person's name is Xu Cang!"

(End of this chapter)