"Incredible! This is a direct slap in the face!" Looking at the freshly received intelligence, Boss Huang's expression flickered between moods. "Bezos, alone, stormed Amazon, only to be met with universal acclaim. Even the new Amazon president resigned and followed Bezos to the new brand, Wanxian Pavilion?"
"I'm probably going to become the laughingstock of the entire world, and a stepping stone for Bezos to ascend to godhood!" Boss Huang tossed the intelligence onto the table and then kicked it over, sending the entire table crashing to the ground.
Huang He was truly desperate.
Just as Boss Huang sarcastically put it, after this incident, the entire Amazon, and even the entire Jiangnan Group, became the world's biggest joke.
Nearly all media outlets worldwide were frantically reporting on this news. After all, the former chairman, single-handedly entering his former company, led over 70% of the employees, including the new president, to a new company. The original company was left with less than 30% of its staff. With his sole effort and prestige, he dismantled Amazon's entire organizational structure.
Such news was incredibly explosive and thrilling. Even without Goldman Sachs fanning the flames from behind, the global media would never let such an earth-shattering, heaven-shaking piece of news go.
In an instant, this news dominated all media headlines. On the very first night, over 13% of the world's population saw this message.
The aftermath was obvious. Bezos made a triumphant return, becoming the super A-lister of the month. Similarly, Wanxian Pavilion, only two or three days after its establishment, transformed into the hottest e-commerce website in the world, and by a significant margin.
Of course, Amazon had thoroughly become a stepping stone, trampled upon by everyone. The result was that the remaining 30% of Amazon's employees also left in a short period.
Then came the stock price crash. In a single day, it plummeted by over 60%, falling back to 20 billion US dollars from its peak, and it showed no signs of stopping.
This meant that the Jiangnan Group's substantial acquisition investment of 25 billion US dollars had evaporated by 10 billion US dollars in the blink of an eye.
"Undoubtedly, this is Goldman Sachs' doing. Chairman, I suggest we immediately sue Bezos for unfair competition. We must resolutely prosecute these actions!" Hao Jianguo passionately declared at the emergency meeting of Amazon's senior management, appearing ready for revenge.
Hao Jianguo's words were not wrong. The mastermind behind this was undoubtedly Goldman Sachs Group. It was obvious to anyone with common sense that without Goldman Sachs secretly pulling the strings, Bezos could never have achieved such an astonishing feat. Did they really think Bezos was a god?
From the audience's perspective, this was a dramatic spectacle of a king's return, a story so satisfying that even a protagonist in an annual feel-good novel couldn't achieve such a feat.
However, for these seasoned business veterans, there were too many hidden tricks. Firstly, it was impossible for over 70% of employees to defect with Bezos.
To be fair, a portion of employees might indeed follow their former superior, Bezos. But the number of these employees could never exceed 20%.
After all, for any normal person, abandoning an industry-leading company to join a newly established one – is that something a rational person would do?
Especially for Amazon employees, about half of whom were married with families to support. Would a normal person do such a thing?
Therefore, behind this seemingly glorious return, there was a week-long struggle for influence. During this week, various headhunting firms under Goldman Sachs began aggressively contacting Amazon executives and ordinary employees.
They showcased the bright prospects of cooperation between Goldman Sachs and Bezos, along with promises of salary increases. The 50% of employees who appeared to leave in a fit of emotion after being stimulated by their former boss had actually already reached agreements with Wanxian Pavilion and decided to jump ship.
Especially the new vice president, for whom Goldman Sachs offered triple the annual salary and bonuses, along with the promise of remaining vice president in the new company. The Amazon president, who was on stage, performed the astonishing feat of defecting on the spot, utterly humiliating the Jiangnan Group.
Simultaneously, it was precisely because of the cooperation of this new president that Goldman Sachs' recruitment at Amazon became unrestrained. Amazon's management did nothing to stop it, allowing them to act and waiting for a moment of dramatic eruption.
These were all meticulously calculated moves.
As for the remaining employees, after nearly all senior executives and most colleagues chose to leave, those individuals, caught up in the momentum, also resigned in a daze. If everyone else was doing it, it must be the right decision to switch jobs; not leaving would make one a fool.
According to some sources who wished to remain anonymous, Wanxian Pavilion spent over 80 million US dollars on this entire spectacle, and its annual salary expenses would exceed 500 million US dollars to accommodate these defecting employees.
This was an incredibly exorbitant figure. Without Goldman Sachs Group's financial and logistical support from behind the scenes, Bezos could never have mustered such a massive sum.
If the results proved the money was well spent, this major news propelled Wanxian Pavilion to fame. Within the first week of its platform launch, it had attracted over 100,000 merchants and millions of registered users. All of this was the immense online traffic generated by this explosive news.
Moreover, the most crucial aspect was that these employees, who were poached in bulk, had completely crippled Amazon's daily operational capacity. These 70% of employees were like 70% of its blood. Having lost this blood, the remaining shell of Amazon could only lie on the ground in shock. It was unlikely to even conduct normal work operations.
This move was exceptionally ruthless. It was the first time the entire Jiangnan Group felt the terrifying power that Goldman Sachs could wield when it decided to openly confront a company.
Therefore, even at this executive meeting, despite Hao Jianguo's passionate speech, the atmosphere below the stage was deathly silent.
After all, Amazon's remaining executives were less than 13%, and among them, over 23% were already preparing their resignation letters. They were convinced that by openly warring with Goldman Sachs and having 70% of its workforce drained, Amazon had no fighting power left. In less than a few months, this once-leading e-commerce giant would simply cease to exist.
If not now, then when?
"Can a lawsuit even work?" After Hao Jianguo finished speaking, Huang He directly asked the company's sole remaining legal department staff member, who was currently the acting head of the department.
"Sir, although I deeply detest Bezos's actions, he is legally unimpeachable!" the legal staff member said with a serious expression. "Under normal circumstances, we would sign non-compete agreements with departing executives to ensure they do not engage in any actions that harm the company's interests after leaving."
"However, Bezos is too exceptional. He didn't leave through normal channels but was forcibly expelled after all his shares were stripped. As a result, the company failed to sign a non-compete agreement with him when asking him to leave, allowing him to poach employees freely without any legal repercussions, as this is legally permissible!"
"What about these employees who left with Bezos? They directly went to work for a competing enterprise. Aren't they bound by non-compete agreements?"
"This... Sir, because Mr. Bezos was very confident in his company, he always told us that it was the platform that was excellent, not the employees. He believed that without the Amazon platform, even powerful executives would be worthless!"
"Therefore, the company saw no need to sign non-compete agreements, and only required a confidentiality agreement! Thus, the company never asked any employees to sign non-compete agreements, which is why..."
"Alright, I understand. So, legally, we have no recourse, correct?" Huang He asked coldly.
"Amazon is finished!" At this very moment, everyone in the room, including Hao Jianguo, thought to themselves.
In just a week since the acquisition, Goldman Sachs had directly destroyed Amazon, causing the Jiangnan Group's 25 billion US dollars in investment to go to waste. Witnessing this scene, the old man in the distance smiled.
"Small tricks will eventually prove to be insignificant. How can you resist a righteous army!" the old man muttered to himself, toying with a chess piece in his hand, his eyes narrowed. (To be continued)