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Chapter 379 I was tricked

In the early summer of 1998, a complex emotion permeated the air of Murray Hill, New Jersey, a mixture of sadness at parting and anticipation for the unknown.

Thousands of moving trucks are neatly lined up in the parking lot and surrounding open space. This land, which has witnessed the birth of countless scientific miracles, is now welcoming an unprecedented migration.

When Ernst and Carl Weller arrived at the scene, they were greeted by a bustling crowd.

Several workers in blue overalls were carrying a large low-temperature refrigerator and carefully loading it onto a truck under the instructions of relevant personnel.

This device is the core research and development tool of the Superconducting Institute. It can maintain an ultra-low temperature environment of -270 degrees Celsius inside, and is used for the property testing of superconducting materials and the collection of experimental data.

The scene was bustling with people and chaotic, with even many retired engineers coming with canes.

They were all retired engineers from Bell Labs. Some were leaning on wooden canes, while others were being supported by their families. Their eyes were filled with reluctance.

An elderly man in his eighties stood in front of the main building of the laboratory, his gaze fixed on the Bell Labs logo engraved on the wall. He stood there for a long time, his lips trembling slightly, but he did not speak. Tears even welled up in his cloudy eyes.

As Carl Weller looked at the scene before him, his fists clenched involuntarily, and his face showed undisguised grief and indignation.

"When Bell Labs invented the transistor in 1947, AT&T had not made any profit from the technology for five consecutive years."

"If the management back then had been as short-sighted as they are now in calculating short-term gains, mobile phones today might not even exist."

Ernst noticed Carl's emotions, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him, "Don't worry, we will prove with our actions just how serious a mistake the Telephone and Telegraph Corporation and Lucent made this time. What they missed was a treasure that could change the future technological landscape."

In fact, Ernst himself was somewhat resentful of the Telephone and Telegraph Group because he had been tricked by them.

The negotiations went exceptionally smoothly, and both sides quickly reached a consensus on core terms such as personnel, equipment, and technology patents.

However, the moment the deal was officially signed, Richie McGinn suddenly demanded that Ernst's team complete the relocation within a month.

Just as Ernst was puzzled, the other party calmly explained, "The land where the Murray Mountain Laboratories is located does not belong to Bell Labs, but to Lucent Technologies. According to the agreement, you can take away the laboratory's personnel, equipment, and patents, but you must leave the land behind."

Ernst felt like he'd been ripped off; they really knew how to scheme.

He later learned that Murray Hill was a quiet and convenient place, and Lucent had already begun contacting several real estate developers, planning to transform the land into high-end luxury villas for sale and make huge profits.

That's not all. What Ernst wanted to curse even more than the land issue was the talent problem.

Ernst couldn't possibly build a new experimental base for Bell Labs near Mount Murray. Since he was going to move, he would definitely move directly to his home base in California.

This raises the question of whether or not talent will stay or leave.

There are certainly people who are unwilling to leave their hometowns; even if they don't consider themselves, they should consider their families.

Americans don't take settling down very seriously. Even if they buy a house, it's common for them to sell it and move to other cities for work.

But not all Americans are like that; some are used to their lifestyle and don't want to leave their homeland.

At this time, Lucent took the opportunity to poach talent from Bell Labs, attempting to retain its core personnel.

After selling Bell Labs, Lucent planned to establish its own Lucent Labs, and the existing employees of Bell Labs naturally became their primary target.

This is a blatant conspiracy. Ernst cannot forcibly prevent employees from leaving, so he can only attract talent by improving benefits and optimizing the development environment.

"So, how many researchers are willing to come with us to California?"

"I have conveyed your proposed terms to all researchers. Anyone willing to move to California with the team will receive a 10% salary increase, along with housing subsidies and support for their children's education."

"Currently, over 90% of the researchers have clearly expressed their willingness to go together, and fewer than 1,000 have not yet made a final decision."

Nobody wants to work for free. Talking about ideals is like being a rapist. Maybe some people are willing at first, but it's impossible to expect someone to be raped for a lifetime.

Since you're going to be played anyway, you might as well sell yourself; at least you can make some money.

Talking about money hurts feelings, but the question is, do we even have feelings for each other?

Although Ernst has to pay an extra one or two hundred million dollars a year in salary expenses, there is nothing that can be done about it.

Researchers are the core asset of a laboratory; only by retaining them can we ensure that the laboratory's research and development capabilities are not weakened.

"I will remember this debt, and one day I will make Lucent and Telephone & Telegraph pay the price," Ernst thought to himself.

Of course, Ernst wasn't spending money recklessly; while increasing revenue, he was also actively cutting costs.

He didn't increase the wages of the support staff in the laboratory, such as administrative staff and logistics personnel, and even reduced the number of employees.

Bell Labs had too many support staff, which he felt was completely unnecessary.

Even with a reduction of half the staff, Bell Labs can still maintain normal operations.

Ernst's attitude towards these people was that they could come and go as they pleased, or stay as they pleased.

Even if there are none left, it's easy to recruit these kinds of people in California. He'd be happy to have no ordinary employees at all and recruit them all in California.

Boosting employment in California would allow him to continue to expand his influence in the state.

"How satisfied are the employees with the new environment? Have they experienced any negative emotions?" After understanding the issue of talent retention, Ernst then inquired about the employees' adaptation.

Carl replied with a smile, "There's nothing to be satisfied or dissatisfied with. Everyone knows that the current office space is just a temporary shelter, and everyone is looking forward to the new experimental base."

Ernst originally did not intend to move Bell Labs here; he preferred Santa Clara County to the south.

But it's unclear how the other party obtained the information, as the terms they offered were perfectly suited to Ernst's current needs.

Regarding land, the San Mateo County government promised that Bell Labs could freely choose the location of its new experimental site throughout the county, and that the government would offer the most favorable land transfer price and assist with all approval procedures.

What's most satisfying is that Bell Labs' current temporary office is the newly built county office building in San Mateo County.

Unexpectedly, before they even moved in, they directly rented it to Bell Labs for free for two years, without charging a penny.

No wonder San Mateo County is so enthusiastic; Redwood City has a population of only 80,000, and the entire county has no more than 700,000.

The establishment of Bell Labs in the area could create thousands of jobs in the short term.

In the long run, the construction of the new experimental base will drive the development of the local construction and manufacturing industries, and the consumption demand of laboratory staff will also stimulate the prosperity of the local business and real estate markets.

"I heard that the San Mateo County government prepared quite a few gifts for you?" Ernst looked at Carl Weller, his tone slightly teasing.

Carl Weller's expression shifted from sadness to embarrassment. "I couldn't refuse their kind invitation, and besides, I really think Redwood City is an excellent choice."

"Located within the San Francisco metropolitan area, with San Francisco to the north and Silicon Valley to the south, its geographical location is superb. Moreover, it boasts excellent air transport, with California's second-largest airport located there, making transportation convenient. Whether it's the living environment or..."

Karl wanted to continue explaining the advantages of Redwood City, but Ernst raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Fine, let's take it. Since I've given you the decision on the location, I will unconditionally trust your judgment."

Hearing this, Carl felt a surge of warmth in his heart. In his more than twenty years working for the Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, he had never felt such complete trust.

"Next, the most important task is to determine the location of the new experimental base as soon as possible and strive to start construction as soon as possible." Ernst's tone became serious.

Although this would require an investment of several hundred million dollars, he had to do it.

Only in this way can all the staff at Bell Labs see the new boss's wealth and the importance he attaches to them, thus allowing them to feel at ease and settle down completely in the new environment.

As Carl Weller said, everyone was full of expectations for the future, so they didn't mind the temporary rudimentary office environment. It was because Ernst was willing to spend money and said he would build them a better and larger experimental base than Murray Hill.

Fortunately, Massim brought him good news: Green agreed to his exorbitant 30% commission.

At least the money will be available for the construction of Bell Labs' new headquarters and for this year's R&D investment.

"I've already sent Marcus to investigate. He's not only a leading expert in basic research, but also in geological exploration." Carl also attaches great importance to this matter.

"Many precision instruments have extremely high requirements for the stability of the operating environment, especially experimental equipment in the semiconductor field. Even slight changes in the geology can affect the accuracy of experimental data. He is more concerned about this than anyone else."

The semiconductor industry has extremely high requirements for stability, not just in terms of equipment and technology, but also in terms of land stability.

This is why global semiconductor prices surge whenever there is an earthquake near a region with advanced semiconductor industry.

Humans may not be able to sense it, but devices can.

If a major earthquake were to occur anywhere in Japan, the entire Japanese semiconductor industry could face production shutdowns because production would require readjusting and recalibrating equipment.