Super Zoo

After reporting to the higher-level party organization and obtaining approval, Mrs. Tong took over as the Party Secretary and also worked as the office director, coordinating with Suming's work and becoming his assistant. Before the zoo's restructuring, the Party Committee was somewhat an overlooked existence; after the reform, its importance diminished further, with its main work being to organize the labor union and take care of employee welfare and the like.

"Suming, you should host the upcoming meeting," Song nodded to Suming and pushed the microphone towards him.

Restructuring did not mean the zoo had become Suming's personal property. Apart from managing his own business and contracted projects, he now had another task, as Mr. Song had put it: to grow the zoo and improve the employees' income. These two roles were different. Within the zoo, Suming was like a manager, drawing a salary and dividends; for his own business, Suming was a private enterprise owner. But these two roles each had advantages the other did not, allowing for mutual promotion and complementation.

When Mr. Song was speaking earlier, many employees were somewhat nervous, not because they feared Mr. Song, but because, after many years as a leader and with his age, he naturally commanded an air of authority.

They had always been worried when Mr. Song mentioned the topic of future employee engagement. As per tradition, after restructuring, some of the grassroots staff would definitely be let go.

When it was Suming's turn to speak, the employees relaxed quite a bit. They weren't underestimating Suming; on the contrary, because Suming had always brought continuous surprises to the zoo, over time, they had developed a kind of confidence in him, always feeling that Suming wouldn't announce bad news.

"Since the director has entrusted this matter to me, I will address what everyone is most concerned about first," Suming had sometimes chatted with the employees recently and vaguely knew what was on their minds, mainly their concerns about future job security.

Hearing this, the employees below all laughed, and Suming also said with a smile, "There are rumors that there will be layoffs..."

Before he could finish, the laughter below instantly vanished, and seeing everyone's tense expressions, Suming waved his hand, "What's the rush? I said it's just a rumor. Other units do lay off people after restructuring. For places like the zoo that are running deficits, technically speaking, layoffs are a way to cut costs, actually the only way. However, in my opinion, to save money, there's no need to consider layoffs at all. First, dismissing a few people won't save much money, and second, all of you are experienced employees of the zoo. If anyone leaves, it will be very difficult for others to take over their area of work right away. For others to get familiar with that job and smoothly take over, it will definitely require a lot of effort and time, which is also an invisible loss. Weighing both sides, it's better not to lay off anyone!"

The employees below nodded subtly. What Suming said had struck a chord with them, and by the time he reached the last four words, their hearts had completely settled.

"Not only are there no layoffs," Suming continued, "but let me give you another piece of reassurance: your current income will not be reduced."

If the previous statement had eased everyone's minds, this one relaxed them completely—it was as if nothing had changed through the restructuring. So as soon as Suming finished speaking, there was a stir below, and employees began to smile and whisper to each other.

Mr. Song didn't speak but cast a meaningful glance at Suming. Song wasn't adept at power games, but that didn't mean he didn't understand them. How to manage people was crucial for the success of a business, and leading such a large team was not something that could be accomplished simply by handing out favors. Trying to be nice to everyone and unable to refuse anyone would only backfire in the end.

Sure enough, after a brief discussion among the employees, Suming resumed his speech with a calmer demeanor but in a tone that was anything but relaxed.

"Everyone, the reason we're not laying off staff is partly for the reasons I mentioned earlier, but more importantly, because you are all old comrades, having served in the zoo for many years. Even if there is no credit, there is at least hard work; I, a young man, have received tremendous support and care from you all in my short half-year at the zoo, and I keep that in my heart," he said seriously. "However, everyone has seen the financial situation of the zoo. Without government financial support, we are losing money every month. The money in the accounts won't last long, and we still need to return it to the government year after year. As it stands, in at most a year, if we can't achieve a balance of income and expenditure, the zoo will find itself in a very awkward position. To put it bluntly, if we don't work hard, in a year's time, prepare to file for bankruptcy and close down. At that time, I can stop being the deputy director, as I have the reservoir and other businesses. But for everyone else, forget about salaries; even keeping the jobs will be in question."

Suming's words served as both a precaution and a foundation for what he was about to say next.

Many of the seasoned people within the zoo grasped Suming's point and waited quietly for him to continue. Security Head Lao Dong nodded and said gravely, "Mr. Su is right. Restructuring a business is both an opportunity and a challenge. If it's well managed, everyone's income will increase; if not, we can't even guarantee our jobs."