America: My Time

Chapter 1573 John's Plan
Chapter 1563 John's Plan
“Boss, although there is a domestic power crisis, in the long run, this is still a good industry. As long as we get through the current predicament, we can usher in a turning point. This is the best time for us to make a move. Why give up?” Patvolt was still somewhat unwilling. After all, the people under him had done this plan many times and had made perfect arrangements, but now they had to give up!

"I know, but our enemies know it too. Do you think that no matter how good the plan on paper is, it can succeed once it is implemented? We are all clear about the prospects and potential of the power industry, and so are others. Moreover, while we are making plans, there are others making plans as well. Under these circumstances, all our arrangements are just castles in the air. Since someone wants to compete for this asset, let's grant them their wish and turn to oil field development. After all, we have made considerable preparations in this area. Most importantly, no one is competing with us, and we also have the cooperation of Quantum Mining. I believe that our energy layout in South America will be further advanced."

John wouldn't need to explain to anyone else, but with the CEO of Western Energy, he felt he had to, at least to make her understand his good intentions and that Western Energy's plans weren't as rosy as they seemed. They couldn't let their guard down just because of a victory against Enron, and this victory wasn't solely Western Energy's; it was a result of the combined efforts of Hurricane Investment and Standard Chartered Bank. Western Energy alone couldn't have accomplished all of this!
“But if our previous plans are just wasted like this, it will make the people below dissatisfied!” Patwaltz still wanted to try, but she didn’t realize how dangerous her efforts were for John. She only thought about Western Energy itself and didn’t realize that John’s vision was from a global perspective!

"I understand, but everything requires trade-offs. Compared to the domestic power industry, it certainly has a promising future, but the prospects for oil energy are even greater. Our presence in South America offers more opportunities. Competition in South America is much less intense than domestic competition, and the potential profits are also higher. Since we're taking risks anyway, why not choose the more valuable one? And while we can temporarily set it aside this time, it doesn't mean there won't be opportunities in the future. Our focus going forward should be on oil field energy, not electricity. We can build a much larger energy trading network, but we lack the capacity to control domestic power. Do you understand the choice now?"

When they heard John's explanation, not only Pat Woltz was shocked, but Meg Whitman and Anne Malcasi were also shocked. They knew about the current power crisis in the United States, as it affected their expansion, but they did not expect their boss to see things so clearly.

Anne Malcasi took a deep breath and said, "Boss, silicon wafer fabs need electricity. If the power crisis continues, it will have a significant impact on us. Without cheap electricity, domestic silicon wafer fabs will be severely less competitive, and their costs will be much higher than those overseas!"

“I know that there won’t be any problems with the power supply in Oregon, but it will be difficult in other places. If it really comes down to it, you can choose to stop production and relocate the factory. After all, this is not our fault. It’s a problem of insufficient power supply. We cannot accept such high prices for electricity. That would be a disaster for our business!”

When John said this, everyone gasped. They hadn't expected him to make such a decision. Relocating the factory at this time would have serious consequences, and California probably wouldn't accept it. After all, they had gone to great lengths to appease John and save the wafer fab in California.

“I’m afraid California won’t accept it, and if we really relocate, worker training will be another problem, and there are also worker-related issues that need to be addressed!” Anne Malcasi looked at John with a bitter expression and a hint of worry in her eyes.

“I know and I understand that this is just to put pressure on those guys in California. After all, they caused all this themselves, and we businesses shouldn't have to bear the consequences. They should be the ones to fix their mistakes. If they can't fix them, they can't blame us for relocating our factories. After all, we can't hold out for long with such crazy electricity prices!”

Bell Labs still holds a certain advantage in this matter, after all, these wafer fabs in China are one of their few assets, and if problems arise, it will have a significant impact on them!

Seeing the worried look on Anne Malcasi's face, John shook his head and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The ones under real pressure right now aren't us, but those guys in California, the ones who caused this power crisis. They want to reap the rewards, but they can't target us. From a long-term perspective, giving up California isn't a big deal. It might cost a considerable amount right now, but it will all be made up for in the future! For Bell Labs, whether it chooses overseas or Oregon, it's a good opportunity!"

"That's true, but we're under even greater pressure. After all, a major strike could happen if we're not careful, which would hurt both sides and even affect our future research and development."

"There are always gains and losses; it's impossible to have the best of both worlds. We either bear the current losses or resolve the issue cleanly and decisively. You don't need to worry; just tell those guys in California our demands, and let them decide for themselves. We simply don't want to be taken advantage of, that's all!"

Actually, many people in the US have more tricks up their sleeves than just this. Compared to the semiconductor industry, they're even more ruthless in the previously insignificant waste disposal companies. As profits in this area increase, many people have set their sights on the companies John owns. John just doesn't want to talk about it with Anne Malcolm and the others, since those guys in California are already taking targeted actions!

John is also making new arrangements for all of this. The enemy's counterattack is very powerful and not as simple as it seems. They have more methods. And this time, John is not only giving up these, but also the farm in California. It can be said that as long as those guys are willing to offer John a price that will tempt him, everything will be fine!

John knew how valuable the waste disposal company would be in the future, but he decided to cut the Gordian knot. He knew he had to give up what needed to be given up and compromise where necessary. After all, he couldn't be stubborn in the face of such targeting; that would only make things more dangerous and put himself in greater danger.
“Okay, whatever you say. Hopefully, those guys in California will do something we can accept!” Anne Malcasi sighed as she spoke, a hint of unease still lingering in her eyes.

John smiled calmly and said, "Like I said, you don't need to worry too much. If it really comes down to it, we can sell it as long as the price is right. I believe Intel and AMD share this idea. As long as our own interests are protected, selling is acceptable! If things get really difficult, this is your fallback plan!" At this moment, Anne Malcasi was shocked. This was a wafer fab with a huge investment, and now her boss was saying that it could be abandoned and sold. She couldn't believe her ears. After all, she knew very well how big the investment was and how much effort and cost had been put in.

"Boss, are you sure you want to do this?" Anne Malcas looked at John with a worried expression, her eyes full of concern!
"It's not up to me to decide, but up to you to decide whether to sell. If it really comes to that, there's no need to put Bell Labs under so much pressure because of it. Since it can't be a profit center for the group, giving it up isn't unacceptable. At worst, we can just shift to research and development and stop all production and manufacturing. There's no need to put too much pressure on ourselves!"

Only John could say something like that. If anyone else had said it, Anne Malcas wouldn't have believed it. Only her boss would have such boldness, since this wasn't the first time he'd done something like this.

Many people would be reluctant to sell such an advanced factory, but John didn't care. Compared to the cheap labor costs in Asia, the United States had a huge gap, not to mention the management costs. After all, American workers were incomparable to those in Taiwan, China, or even South Korea.

The reason Rockefeller insisted on acquiring Samsung was because the labor costs there were too attractive, but there was a huge gap compared to China. This is also why John was able to control the memory chip market. You couldn't compete on patents, and you couldn't compete on costs either. So Rockefeller had no choice but to back down and compromise!
“If we take the full-scale R&D route and abandon all production, I’m afraid there will be a lot of criticism in the United States, which will be detrimental to us. Even for the sake of our reputation, we must persevere!” Anne Malcasi said with a long sigh. This is Bell Labs’ biggest problem. With the splitting of Global Communications, as well as the splitting of supercomputing and servers, she is under considerable pressure. After all, splitting off so much production will have a significant impact on Bell Labs.

"What others say is their own business. As long as our development isn't affected, that's fine. Sometimes, it's best to make a clean break and not worry too much about what others say. It's all up to you to decide. After all, you're the one who knows Bell Labs best, and I trust your judgment!"

John can't do everything himself. If he did, he would be too busy to manage so many companies, and it wouldn't respect the CEOs of those companies. If you let them take the helm, you should trust their abilities instead of interfering too much in the company's development.

Soon, a decision regarding the group's future development was made. Anne Malcasi and the other two did not stay in China for long before returning to the United States to handle the group's affairs. They truly came and went in a hurry.

Their whereabouts naturally did not escape the notice of those who were interested. Many people wanted to know what John would do next and how he would decide the development direction of the three major corporations. In particular, those who wanted to take advantage of John in the power industry were all looking forward to their opportunity. Unfortunately, they were overthinking it; John did not give them such an opportunity at all.

Before the situation on the Korean side could be resolved, the United States was already shocked. Both Bell Labs' announcement to California and the shift in Western energy policies caught them completely off guard, leaving those who had made careful preparations speechless and stunned by the whole affair.

In particular, Western Energy's decision stunned the power companies that were hoping to be acquired. They had originally thought they would get a good price, but now they realized they had been overthinking it. Western Energy's real expansion direction was oil field development, not power generation, which made all their calculations fall through.

Who can be blamed for all this? Although Western Energy has indeed been researching electricity, it has invested more in deep-sea oil extraction and has many supporting industries. It can be said that John has achieved integration of upstream and downstream in this energy development industry chain, leaving no opportunity for anyone to hold it back.

Of course, John's success is also thanks to the research conducted by the Russians back then, and the compromises made by those old guys like Rockefeller. Otherwise, John wouldn't have been able to get Western Energy to invest so heavily in shale oil and deep-sea oil exploration and research, resulting in the current achievements. Western Energy now possesses comprehensive deep-sea extraction technology and a complete industrial chain! Now, all it needs to do is develop some unknown oil fields to truly establish Western Energy's reputation!
After years of silence, Western Energy has finally ushered in a new dawn. After all, Western Energy, which was directly dismantled, needs to truly unleash its full potential. Over the years, even Asian Energy has been ahead of it, and European Energy has also acquired huge assets. Only Western Energy itself has remained unknown.

This sudden change gave Rockefeller and his old guys a headache. Although they wanted to follow suit, they had to give up when they saw their own strength. Moreover, they were worried that following suit rashly would cost them dearly. After all, they were not as crazy as Western Energy. Their goal was to control the pricing power of oil. Only in this way could they revitalize everything in the United States, and this was also the general trend in the United States.

(End of this chapter)