119: Chapter 119 Photovoltaic Electric Vehicle

He turned around, pointed at the HR Director, and said, "Now that Transsion has arrived, they are poaching everyone with triple the salary. People we have cultivated for 13 years, they want to snatch away in just three months. What is this?"

The HR Director did not know what to say.

Because they have money, and when faced with that salary, he actually really wanted to leave too, but Transsion only wanted technical positions and did not want logistical staff like him.

Dean Wang picked up those resignation letters and flipped through them one by one.

Zhang Yang, joined in 2001, participated in 7 projects. Liu Bangdi, joined in 2003, a key player in Geely's first independent chassis. Wang Junjie, joined in 2006, a master's student he personally recruited and mentored hands-on for four years.

He put down the resignation letters.

"Contact the legal department," he said. "Check the non-compete clauses in their contracts."

The HR Director nodded, then hesitated and said, "Dean Wang, non-compete restrictions are usually for a maximum of 6 months to two years, and we have to pay compensation... we..."

"I know," Dean Wang interrupted him. "But I want Transsion to know that poaching people comes with a price.

Using a small amount of non-compete agreement funds to hold them back—this money is not wasted.

I am going to apply to the President right now; even if it means stopping the Volvo project, we must teach them a lesson. These young people do not respect their seniors at all."

[Geely President: In front of Volvo, ignore everything else.]

That night, the mass resignation event at the Geely Research Institute spread throughout the automotive circle.

Someone sent a message in the group chat: "Transsion is really trying to dig up Geely's roots."

"Not just Geely. Seven or eight people have left BYD, and there's movement at Qirui too.

The unluckiest ones have to be those European car companies. Transsion's headhunters were at least somewhat restrained domestically, but overseas, they really let themselves go.

They're offering all sorts of big promises, and they poach entire teams at once... Rumor has it that Volkswagen and BMW are already furious."

"Triple the salary, who can resist that?"

The group chat went quiet for a moment, and the last message came from another anonymous account:

"If you can't resist, then don't. Change places, pay off the mortgage, and the children can enjoy a better education. What's wrong with earning a living based on your own skills?"

Once this message was sent, the group fell silent for a while, and then someone sent a thumbs-up emoji.

The group fell quiet again; after all, there is a limit to how many people they are hiring.

...

January 4th, Guangzhou.

Transsion's HR Manager Wang Hua brought the latest recruitment data to find Shen Fei.

"Mr. Shen, the number of resumes for R&D positions has exceeded 35,000, with over 32,000 of them being currently employed.

Most of these people come from foreign car companies."

He paused slightly: "The reaction from domestic car companies seems to be even more intense than we imagined. It's as if we've hollowed them out.

At Geely's internal meeting yesterday, both the Dean and the Chairman were slamming the table."

Shen Fei was reviewing a progress report; this chip had already entered the formal tape-out stage, and tape-out was expected to be completed by the end of the month.

It would officially hit the market after the New Year.

He said without raising his head: "Slamming the table is normal. If there was no reaction, that would be strange. After all, this is what these people are best at."

He put down the report.

"What does the legal department say? Are there any non-compete restrictions?"

"We checked. Most of the contracts of the people we poached domestically do not have clear non-compete clauses. For those that do, we only need to pay 6 months of compensation. Our funds are sufficient to cover it.

However, the foreign car companies might be a bit more troublesome, but Mr. Huang is handling it. After all, we are somewhat of a minority shareholder."

Shen Fei nodded: "Then continue."

On the other side, Huang Tianya, as a shareholder, also made his first appearance in Munich, beginning to negotiate with them to lift the non-compete agreements.

...

January 4th, evening.

Chen Jianping did not eat with his family; he sat in the study, with two documents placed on the desk.

One was a renewal contract from Geely, with an annual salary increased to 150,000, a 5-year term, and a 50,000 housing subsidy.

The other was an offer letter from Transsion, with an annual salary of 480,000, a 10-year contract, and automatic renewal upon expiration. It promised to resolve household registration issues, solve subsequent education problems, and included a 200,000 housing purchase subsidy.

He stared at these two documents, unable to make a decision for a long time.

His wife pushed the door open and brought in a cup of hot milk.

"Still haven't decided?"

Chen Jianping shook his head; after all, Geely had nurtured him.

"What's the difference?"

"More than three times."

His wife, who had originally wanted to speak, fell silent.

"Dad's illness cost us over 50,000 this year, and our son's tutoring classes will cost 10,000 next year. We still have 300,000 left on the mortgage..."

She didn't continue, and Chen Jianping picked up the cup of hot milk but didn't drink it.

"If I leave, others will say I'm money-grubbing."

His wife sat down opposite him.

"Who are these others?"

Wang Jianping did not answer.

"Is it Dean Wang or the people in that group chat talking about you?"

"These people," his wife said, "have they ever brought you food when you were sick? Have they ever helped you pick up the kids when you were working overtime? When Dad was hospitalized, did they help you with a single penny?"

Chen Jianping fell into silence; what his wife said was indeed a bit cold, but it was also the truth.

The people gossiping would definitely never help him...

Although Dean Wang had shown concern, it was mostly just empty promises. Although he had promised at this meeting to make him the Vice Dean of the Research Institute, but...

Chen Jianping lowered his head.

A long time later, he picked up the pen and signed his name on the brand-new offer letter.

The next day, Chen Jianping submitted his resignation letter.

Dean Wang did not approve it, saying he should think about it again, and promised that he would definitely be promoted to Vice Dean within this year; Geely would never treat any meritorious employee unfairly.

...

On the other side, at the headquarters of Yingli New Energy in Baoding.

Huang Tianya stood in the exhibition hall, looking at the silver-gray car in front of him.

This was the world's first photovoltaic new energy vehicle just released by Yingli. The roof was covered with a layer of deep blue photovoltaic panels, shimmering slightly under the exhibition hall lights.

"This car can save up to 6% of electricity," the guide nearby immediately gathered around. "The cost of the photovoltaic roof is controlled between 10,000 and 20,000, and depending on the intensity of the sunlight, it can provide 5 to 10km of range per day."

Huang Tianya did not speak; this design by Yingli was a bit lackluster, but he thought of another matter.

Last year, Mr. Shen sent over a photovoltaic team.

The team's achievement, graphene solar panels, had a conversion rate of 28.7%, which was more than 10% higher than the monocrystalline silicon solar panels here at Yingli.

If the area was fully covered, running 50 kilometers a day would be absolutely no problem.

"Sir," the guide saw him so engrossed, "would you like to test drive the actual car?"

"No need, I'll just look at it myself."

He walked around the car once and kept every detail in his mind.

Returning to the hotel, Huang Tianya immediately called Shen Fei.

"Mr. Shen, I have found a new train of thought..."