America: My Time

Chapter 178 Arrangement
Chapter 178 Arrangements

Legendary Entertainment Group is now a complete entity, encompassing film, television, and newspapers/weekly publications, each with top-tier power. Under these circumstances, mere confrontation is insignificant. A full-scale confrontation would impact Legendary Entertainment Group, but the impact on other Hollywood giants would be even greater. They can hold out for a short time, but in the long run, these bastards cannot withstand such enormous losses; they cannot accept such consequences! The situation with Disney, and who's behind it, are no longer Legendary Entertainment's concerns. Now, Legendary Entertainment needs to deal with its adversaries with even stronger measures!
Legendary Entertainment has the vast 'resources' left by John, from film to television to records, which is enough to cope with any crisis. Not to mention that Legendary toys are now selling like hotcakes. Moreover, with Phoenix Media's accelerated expansion in the United States, Legendary Entertainment has taken the lead in peripheral products, and its revenue is far beyond that of other Hollywood giants.

When Legendary Entertainment Group entered into a full-scale confrontation, these Hollywood giants faced not only challenges in the film industry, but also in television and newspapers, and even records and merchandise sales. Legendary Entertainment Group now has a perfect layout, which other Hollywood giants cannot achieve, not to mention Disney.

With so many things happening and so many enemies causing trouble at the same time, it would be strange if there wasn't a problem. It's as if all of this unfolded after John left the United States, as if all his actions were being watched and remembered by the other side. The occurrence of such a situation shows how insidious and cunning the enemy is.

To see this merely as a product of the pre-election struggle would be foolish; John, though young, wouldn't have such a naive idea. While the donkey is behind it all, he's just a pawn. The real mastermind is someone else entirely. Perhaps this is a 'test' for himself by the old guard, or perhaps there are other forces at play.

No matter what the enemy wants to do, John will not back down. Since the donkeys have jumped out to cause trouble, he will take action against them. In an election year, anything can happen. Some companies will naturally do crazy things to seek profits. It is normal for such situations to occur, not to mention that there are more calculations behind it. So John did not feel that there was anything wrong with it.

After communicating with Robert Iger, the Legendary Entertainment matter was considered settled. Now it was time to get down to business. Although Hollywood was making a big fuss, its influence was still limited. This time, it only targeted the editors and actors, and only Legendary Entertainment. But Bentley Group was different. The other side's spearhead was aimed directly at Bentley Group because Bentley Group is a manufacturing company, and specifically a car manufacturer.

John had originally intended to use the 4S store to shut up the United Auto Workers and quiet those bastards, but things didn't go as planned. The enemy continued to cause trouble, forcing him to resort to backup measures. Since those damned donkeys were pointing the finger at Bentley and directly accusing him of not creating jobs for Meritoline, what else was there to say?

"Ms. Mary, what's the situation with Bentley Motors? How's the deployment in Mexico progressing?"

"Boss, Bentley's situation isn't ideal, especially in the US where we're under immense pressure. Things are going well in Europe, and as for Mexico, we've completed negotiations with them. The factory has already started construction and will be completed soon. The production line has also been finalized. But at this time, under these circumstances, isn't it a bit too risky to establish a manufacturing plant in Mexico? Those bastards from the United Auto Workers have been targeting the Bentley Motors Group all along."

"This is no longer just about those bastards from the United Auto Workers. Things have gotten even crazier. We need to implement a backup plan. You go find Morgan. We want to acquire Jeep. Since they want to play, we'll play big with them. I want to see what they're up to and how long they can hold out in this confrontation!"

"Boss, isn't acquiring Jeep at this time a bit too risky? Nobody knows what those lunatics might do. One wrong move and we could face a crazy strike, which could backfire and affect the overall development of the Bentley Group!"

"Don't overthink it. Everything is under our control. As long as we don't care, we will always have the initiative in our hands. I also know a bit about the situation with Jeep. Nothing serious will happen, so you can rest assured. Moreover, this is also an opportunity, a chance to completely establish Bentley Group's reputation and let those people see our toughness!"

"Hiss!" Upon hearing her boss's words, Mary Barra gasped. It seemed her boss was enraged, harboring a far more terrifying scheme and plan. Perhaps her boss had foreseen the numerous problems that might arise before the Bentley Group's overseas investment and had made preparations accordingly; otherwise, the Mexican side wouldn't have been dealt with so easily. Although she understood that her boss had more to scheme for, Mary Barra knew this wasn't a secret she should delve into. Moreover, something was clearly amiss this time; it was obvious that some people were causing trouble, their target being her boss!

"Boss, how do we solve the funding problem? Bentley Group is already burdened with a considerable amount of debt. If we add more, it will put enormous pressure on us, and we also need to guard against the worst-case scenario!"

What's the situation with the Bentley Group? It's a British company. Although the owner is American, they have no obligation to provide jobs for them. Moreover, the Bentley Group has not completely failed to provide jobs for the United States. The 4S stores have already given an explanation to all parties in the United States. Now, some people are still harassing them and bringing up the Bentley Group's investments in Europe and China. This is a big problem!
"Don't worry, funding is not a problem. Dreamworld and Nvidia will be raising funds soon. As for the acquisition funds, I will communicate with the Japanese bank. Since some people are bringing up jobs, we will give them jobs!"

“Boss, even if we want to acquire Jeep, Chrysler might not necessarily sell the Jeep brand to us. It’s one of Chrysler’s most valuable assets. In comparison, I’m more optimistic about another option, ‘Polaris Industries’!” Acquiring a car brand in the United States was something Mary Barra had wanted to do for a long time, and it was also a way to give an explanation to various parties in the United States. However, choosing to acquire Jeep at this time and under these circumstances made the outcome uncertain!
"Don't worry, they'll definitely agree, and they'll give us a reasonable price that we can accept. Go to Morgan; they'll handle everything for us. With Morgan's strength, they'll complete the acquisition quickly. As for the other option, if you think it's feasible, you can do that too. We don't lack funds; Neon Bank will give us their full support!" John didn't think there would be any difficulties with funding. Neon Bank knew that Dreamworld and Nvidia were about to raise funds, so they definitely wouldn't have any problems. Besides, Jeep and Polaris Industries weren't particularly valuable at the moment!

Now everything is gradually spiraling out of control. John didn't want to continue expanding the automotive industry at this time, and he didn't want to attract the attention of those old guys again. But things didn't go as planned. The enemy didn't think that way. Under the enemy's repeated pressure, he had to change his mind and continue to expand, giving them the 'opportunity' they wanted.

The US is just full of problems. If this were Japan, there wouldn't be so many issues or troubles. But now, everything is out of my control. Many people in the US are watching me, and this is something I have to face. Of course, everything has two sides; this storm in the US has also given me more opportunities to get loans from Japanese banks.

“Okay, boss, I will handle all of this carefully. Since there is no problem with the funds, let’s also resolve the issue of the job positions. Let’s see what other reasons they have to cause trouble for us!” At this moment, Mary Barra made a decision very readily. Originally, she was worried that the cash flow would be problematic, but now with the boss’s assurance, there was no need to worry. She understood the situation of Dream World and Nvidia and knew that once the financing was secured, the boss would have a huge amount of funds.

"Ms. Mary, expedite the construction in Mexico and complete the production line installation as quickly as possible, even at a cost. The enemy won't give us much time to prepare." In the end, John reminded Mary Barra about the construction of the Mexican factory, as it would be Bentley's last line of defense for production.

Although she could vaguely guess what her boss was thinking, Mary Barra didn't ask. Instead, she accepted it directly. As long as it wasn't affected by funding, there was nothing that couldn't be done. As long as the Mexican side provided enough funding, it wouldn't be a problem for them to work 24 hours a day. There was no United Auto Workers there, so they weren't subject to union constraints.

With Bentley making such a large investment in Mexico, the local officials were naturally very pleased. This was the 1980s, not the Mexico of the future. With such a large investment, Bentley would inevitably receive full official cooperation, a fact that Mary Barra was well aware of.

"Okay, boss, I'll arrange for them to speed things up. If there are no problems, it shouldn't take long. Building the factory is easy, but training skilled workers is not. Even if we can speed up the installation of the production line, Mexico won't have enough production workers in a short time!"

(End of this chapter)