Chapter 141: Major Moves

After announcing the start of the meeting, the first issue Li Dong addressed was the matter of lateness and absenteeism.

"Who were the two people who were late just now?"

The two individuals in the corner stood up, both with flushed faces, feeling utterly embarrassed under the gaze of everyone in the room. One of them, an older man, awkwardly said, "President Li, I'm terribly sorry. My daughter's school just..."

"No need to explain!" 

Li Dong cut him off coldly, "Work is work! Family is family! It's possible to balance both, but at the very least, you must do your job well. If you can't manage that, then just go home—my money won't support idlers!"

"I made it clear before this meeting that there would be no excuses for being late or absent! But you all treated my words as if they were nothing. If you don't want to work, then leave. Far East needs people who can get things done, not people who act like they own the place!"

The older man's face turned even redder. He gritted his teeth and walked out of the meeting room. Li Dong didn't care and said calmly, "That's for the best. Make sure the HR department gets his resignation letter."

After addressing that, Li Dong turned to the remaining individual and asked, "And you? Will you take only the base salary this month, or will you resign?"

"President Li, I'll take the base salary!" the young man quickly replied. He wasn't foolish. Losing a few thousand yuan was better than being dismissed. Far East's compensation was much better than other companies in the same industry, and there were plenty of opportunities for advancement in the future. Leaving now would be a huge mistake, unlike the older man who would surely regret his decision later.

Li Dong nodded without further comment and then asked Liu Qi, "Who are the other four?"

"Wang Yunzhong, the store manager from Beishan; Chen Hong, the operations supervisor from the marketing department; Assistant Manager Fang from the Yanghe store in Qingyang; and HR supervisor Xiao Ping."

"Deduct Wang Yunzhong's bonus, and fire the others!"

After making this decision, Li Dong was about to move on to the next topic when Qi Yunna quickly interjected, "President Li, Manager Wang was really busy with the store's renovation and had already asked for leave."

Li Dong glanced at her and frowned, "I know! But the store renovation happened because of his poor supervision. Not firing him is already lenient. Do you have any objections to deducting one month's bonus?"

Qi Yunna quickly shook her head. There was nothing more to say when things had already escalated to this point.

No one else dared to speak up either. If even their department manager remained silent, there was no way anyone else would object. But everyone was shocked by the severity of the situation. Two supervisors and a store assistant manager were dismissed just like that.

Li Dong didn't care about what others thought—sometimes, you had to be ruthless. Despite his clear warnings about the importance of the meeting, people still chose to be absent without even asking for leave. This showed how these individuals behaved under normal circumstances. If he didn't set an example now, they would continue to take his generosity for granted.

Without dwelling on this matter any further, Li Dong introduced the second topic of the meeting.

"I plan to reorganize the headquarters' departments."

The room instantly buzzed with whispers. Reorganizing departments would undoubtedly lead to personnel changes, which would directly impact everyone in the room.

Li Dong continued, ignoring the whispers, "The operations and procurement departments will merge to form the Merchandise Management Department."

The whispers grew louder. Merging two departments meant fewer management positions and complicated decisions about who would lead the new department.

Li Dong frowned slightly, and Liu Qi stood up to quiet the room. "Everyone, please be quiet. President Li will give you time to discuss after he finishes."

The room fell silent, though many still had varied expressions—some excited, others anxious.

"The Marketing, Finance, and Human Resources departments will remain unchanged for now."

"The Qinghua Logistics division will be integrated into Far East, forming the Logistics Management Department..."

"The Technical Group will be expanded into the Information Technology Department..."

"The Quality Management Group from the Operations Department will be split off to form the Quality Management Department..."

"The Loss Prevention Department will be renamed the Internal Audit and Inspection Department, with a new Internal Inspection Group to monitor internal company violations..."

"..."

Li Dong announced over a dozen changes, involving expansions, mergers, and the creation of new departments.

Everyone knew that Li Dong was planning a major restructuring, but no one expected the scale to be this extensive. It was almost like tearing down the old system and starting anew.

HR Director Song Jie quickly spoke up after Li Dong finished, "President Li, these changes will cause significant personnel shifts. It might be better to implement them gradually to avoid disruptions."

As soon as Song Jie spoke, others chimed in, "That's right, President Li! Moving too quickly could cause problems. It might be better to take it slow."

However, some disagreed, "I don't see it that way. Far East is still in its early stages. Building a solid framework now might cause short-term chaos, but it will benefit long-term growth."

The room erupted in debate, with everyone voicing their concerns and opinions. Ultimately, all eyes turned back to Li Dong for the final decision.

Li Dong took a sip of tea, having grown tired after speaking so much. Once the discussion quieted down, he put his cup down and said, "I've thought about this for a long time. Our company's departments were numerous, but their responsibilities were poorly defined, leading to overlapping management, wasted resources, and inefficiency."

"Now, while we're still relatively small and most employees are still new, it's the perfect time to redefine departmental roles and responsibilities to streamline future operations."

After explaining his reasoning, Li Dong didn't leave room for further discussion, declaring, "The department restructuring is final. Now, let's move on to personnel matters."

The others exchanged glances, realizing that Li Dong was indeed dictatorial in his approach, making it clear that his decisions were not up for debate. All they could do now was focus on securing a favorable position in the new structure, especially those in departments being merged.

The upcoming personnel announcements would shock everyone present. Several senior managers who had been demoted were visibly upset, especially the director of the administrative department, who couldn't help but ask, "President Li, what about me?"

Li Dong had made numerous personnel announcements, yet her name hadn't been mentioned. "I'm only discussing supervisor and manager positions here—no others," Li Dong said coldly.

With those words, everyone quickly understood the implication.

There was collective shock—this was the equivalent of a complete demotion! Only supervisor and manager roles were being discussed, meaning that as an administrative director, she hadn't even secured a supervisor position.

The former administrative director was left utterly defeated, hanging her head in silence.

Li Dong snorted but remained silent. The company's management had been in disarray, and the administrative department was the first to blame. When even a regular employee could casually enter the general manager's office, not firing her was already lenient.

However, Li Dong didn't directly fire her on the spot—dismissing someone officially would require severance. By embarrassing her in front of so many people, she would likely choose to resign voluntarily. If not, Li Dong had other ways to make her leave.