I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

"Qing Yuan?"

"Huh? Mr. Zheng, please speak." Lin Qingyuan quickly came back to her senses.

Why are you so distracted? Are you too tired lately?

"No...it's nothing, I probably just didn't sleep well last night."

"Then you must get some rest. You're a key member of our company; you can't afford to fall ill!"

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Zheng."

Zheng Keming nodded and got straight to the point: "Qingyuan, you handled those people who couldn't keep up with the company's pace very well. You did a great job."

Lin Qingyuan forced a smile: "It's nothing, President Zheng."

During the last company staff optimization, under her full leadership, nearly half of the company's long-term employees were laid off, including Yang Chongwu, whom she remembered vividly.

She still remembers the things Yang Chongwu said to her alone that time.

Especially that line: "President Lin, you're just an employee too. When you reach my age, when you're no longer cost-effective for the company, will you also be sacked out with a single contract, just like me?"

Almost all of the laid-off veteran employees held stock options. According to the agreement, as long as the company successfully went public, they could exercise their options and cash out. That might be the reward they had been waiting for after ten years or even longer in this industry.

But the company didn't give them a chance to exercise their rights and instead laid them all off.

If the person leaves, the options become invalid.

The company's stated explanation is organizational restructuring, survival of the fittest, and elimination of the weak.

But Lin Qingyuan knew very well that there was only one real reason: the more long-term employees who held shares, the more money the bosses would have to distribute after the company went public.

Therefore, they must get rid of these "excess shareholders" before the IPO.

That's obviously not a fair thing to do.

But she was just an HR director; she could only execute the strategic decisions made by the company's senior management.

As Lin Qingyuan thought about these things, she felt a heavy weight pressing on her chest, a feeling of suffocation.

Zheng Keming noticed that she seemed a little uncomfortable and gently comforted her, "For the company to develop, it must maintain its vitality. Those who can't keep up with the pace will only drag everyone down if they stay in the team. What you did was the right thing; it's being responsible to the company and to those who stay. Don't feel guilty."

Lin Qingyuan shook her head: "I didn't."

Zheng Keming nodded in satisfaction: "Very good! I like your clean and efficient personality. Next, I have another task for you."

He paused, then said, "Lay off half of the interns and recent graduates as well."

Lin Qingyuan's heart sank upon hearing this. She looked up and stared at Zheng Keming's face, trying to find even the slightest hesitation or reluctance in his expression.

but.

That face held nothing but a gentle smile.

"Mr. Zheng, if the company doesn't need so many people, why did you have us recruit so many interns during the campus recruitment and social recruitment process?"

Zheng Keming said calmly, "It's necessary for going public. Going public has requirements for indicators such as talent structure and employee size."

That one sentence sent Lin Qingyuan plummeting into an icy abyss.

It is required for listing.

With just four light words, they managed to dismiss those young people who had just entered society.

In other words, these interns are seen by the company as nothing more than tools to push for an IPO.

Hire them first to expand the workforce and improve the talent structure, making the numbers in the prospectus look better. Then lay them off before the IPO, lighten the load, and reduce labor costs.

Throughout the entire process, no one considered the feelings of these young people.

No one expected that they would be kicked out of Xinglan before their internship was even over, having just stepped out of school full of hope for the future and enthusiasm for their first job.

Zheng Keming, this cold-blooded monarch, never considered how many people this would ruin.

Or rather, he thought of it, but he didn't care.

A surge of anger gradually rose in Lin Qingyuan's heart.

The status of a recent graduate is time-limited. Once laid off, they lose not only a job, but also the valuable status of a recent graduate.

The policies for civil service exams, supplementary recruitment for college graduates, and talent introduction programs are all gone.

Even if they want to get into a good company in the future, it will be much more difficult.

In some ways, laying off interns is worse than laying off long-term employees.

Lin Qingyuan grew angrier the more she thought about it. She wanted to stand up, point her finger at Zheng Keming, and yell, "Are you even human?!"

But she ultimately held back.

Because she knew very well that if she didn't obey, she could be replaced at any time, just like the other interns, even though she was trained by the other party and, in some ways, the other party was her mentor.

Similarly, it was precisely because she was trained by him that she knew how cold-blooded he was at heart.

Looking at her expression, Zheng Keming smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Are you having trouble?"

Lin Qingyuan: "President Zheng, I just feel that these recent graduates have only been with the company for a short time, and laying them off now would have a huge impact on them. Moreover, if there is a class-action arbitration, it would also be bad for the company's reputation. After all, the company is about to go public, and any negative news could affect investors' confidence."

Zheng Keming: "Then let them go to arbitration. Our contracts are all compliant. We laid off employees during the probationary period and paid full compensation in accordance with the law. They can't cause any trouble."

"Qingyuan, you must remember that the most important thing for a company before it goes public is data, profits, and growth, not the future of a few interns."

"The capital market won't stop us from going public just because we laid off a few interns, but they will question our valuation because of our high labor costs and unsatisfactory profit margins."

"I hope you can distinguish between what is more important and what is less important."

Lin Qingyuan had to admit that Zheng Keming's words were very realistic. In the face of capital, the future of a few young people was indeed insignificant.

Knowing is one thing, accepting is another.

She couldn't be as nonchalant as Zheng Keming.

Zheng Keming made the decision immediately: "Alright! I've told you everything. This matter is settled. Go back and make a plan. Complete the layoffs within a month. Be careful to control public opinion and don't cause too much of a commotion."

In one month, half of the interns and recent graduates were laid off.

Lin Qingyuan closed her eyes, her heart turning cold. This was yet another job that would offend many people.

She already earned the nickname "executioner" in the company after laying off veteran employees last time, and now she's going to target young people who have just entered the workforce.

If something goes wrong in the end, she, as the HR director, will definitely have to take the blame.

But she had no choice but to accept: "Okay, Mr. Zheng, I'll go back and work on the plan."

Zheng Keming nodded in satisfaction: "I knew it. Qingyuan, you've never let me down. If you do this well, I'll transfer you to a branch office in another city as general manager."

Lin Qingyuan tugged at the corners of her mouth, trying to force a smile, but she couldn't manage to.

She had come here today to eat vegetarian food, but now she had no appetite at all.