Chapter 288 - 288: Wave of Unemployment

May 8th, 2022.

Infineon's Xingdao Branch quickly convened an all-hands meeting.

Lawrence, the head of the branch, announced to all employees, "Colleagues, I deeply regret to inform you that the head office has decided to move the factory to Sydney, in Kangaroo Country. Any employees interested in working in Kangaroo Country can submit an application to the HR department."

"What?"

"This is..."

The mid- to senior-level employees weren't too panicked. After all, with their skills, they could get by anywhere, and they had already built up considerable savings.

The ones who were truly uneasy were the rank-and-file workers on the factory floor.

Infineon had nominally agreed to applications to go to Kangaroo Country, but the problem was that it would be extremely difficult for ordinary workers to obtain visas. The immigration review department in Kangaroo Country was notoriously strict; the vast majority of production line technicians would never pass.

「On that same day.」

Twenty-three semiconductor companies, including Intel, Texas Instruments, STMicroelectronics, Samsung, and Archer Daniels Midland, chose to pull out of Xing Island.

In addition, a large number of precision instrument companies, as well as Shell and Citroen, also announced the closure of their Xing Island factories.

This dealt another devastating blow to Xing Island's already wintry economy, making a bad situation even worse.

At almost the exact same time, global semiconductor giants announced "slight price adjustments" for certain regions.

Even SMIC International had to comply with America's instructions to raise prices.

The price for semiconductor components that the Homo Sapiens Company purchased from external suppliers instantly skyrocketed by 8 to 12 times.

「Luoyang District, Xing Island.」

The Homo Sapiens Company's HR department had set up the Xingdao Branch's personnel division here. A long line had formed, filled with people wearing masks and waiting anxiously.

Inside the building, Zhang Kai, who had just been laid off by Intel, was waiting in line with a dozen of his former colleagues to apply for relief benefits.

After more than twenty minutes, it was finally Zhang Kai's turn.

The HR employee, who had been transferred from the Luzon Branch, glanced at Zhang Kai's ID and application. "An assembly and testing technician from Intel? Eleven years of work experience?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Zhang Kai asked, a little nervous.

The HR employee took out a Social-Type Employee Onboarding Application, an employee contract, and an employee handbook. "Take these to Office 14 on the second floor. Think it over carefully."

Carrying the documents, Zhang Kai and four of his old colleagues went up to Office 14 on the second floor. The room was filled with tables and chairs, resembling a classroom.

An assistant led them inside.

"Sit anywhere you like."

After taking a seat, Zhang Kai asked, "Excuse me, what are we supposed to do now?"

The assistant pointed to the files in their hands. "Review these documents and decide if you want to sign. If you do, let me know. If not, you're free to leave."

"Okay, thank you." Zhang Kai opened the contract.

The so-called "Social-type Employees" were a special group of people who did not work for the Homo Sapiens Company's subsidiaries or internal organizations, but lived within the company's domain.

These Social-type Employees were typically minors, the elderly, the disabled, the unemployed, the wealthy, and freelancers.

Zhang Kai read the contract while flipping through the employee handbook.

By cross-referencing the two documents, he quickly realized that these so-called Social-type Employees were essentially people on the margins of the Homo Sapiens Company. The company didn't require them to work, but would provide them with housing, clothing, food, and medical care.

Of course, Zhang Kai knew that something this good couldn't be that simple.

The employee handbook had already laid out the standards for this relief: it was basically just enough to keep you alive, but forget about living comfortably.

However, becoming a Social-type Employee didn't mean you couldn't move up.

As long as you found a job, you could absolutely improve your standard of living.

If you didn't want to work, you had to rely on your savings or on relatives with enough money to support you. Otherwise, you could only accept this lowest tier of "welfare."

Zhang Kai wasn't too disappointed by this. The economy of Xing Island was a complete mess right now. The Xingdao Yuan had already depreciated by 63%, and Europe and America had announced they would no longer recognize it.

With the mass exodus of foreign capital, a wave of unemployment had erupted instantly.

Zhang Kai looked up and asked, "Assistant Harold, if I work for a company that isn't part of the Homo Sapiens Company, does my Social-type Employee contract continue?"

"Mr. Zhang, Social-type Employees only have two options: death or withdrawal. As long as you don't withdraw, you are an employee of the company until the day you die," Harold explained with a smile.

"Withdrawal?"

"Withdrawing means leaving the company and no longer being entitled to any of its benefits."

'Heh, you might as well just say you're revoking my citizenship,' Zhang Kai complained inwardly.

But he still had doubts. "Assistant Harold, what about the employment contracts I might sign with other companies? How does that work?"

"Don't worry! You won't be signing employment contracts. In those situations, we typically use a labor dispatch model. You will participate in the work of other companies as an employee of the Homo Sapiens Company."

"Labor dispatch? Then what about salary and benefits?" Zhang Kai was completely bewildered.

"The company pays them, of course," Harold said with a shrug of his hands.

As for foreign and private enterprises, they would need to pay a special periodic fee to the Homo Sapiens Company, as well as a labor cooperation fee.

In essence, a Social-type Employee working for a private enterprise was a collaboration between the Homo Sapiens Company and the private enterprise. The Homo Sapiens Company provided the labor, and the private enterprise received it.

Therefore, Social-type Employees were also graded into different levels, and their salaries and benefits were all uniformly distributed by the Homo Sapiens Company.

"Is this mandatory?"

"It is, of course, mandatory."

Zhang Kai and his old colleagues looked at each other in dismay. Now they understood why the Homo Sapiens Company claimed to have no unemployment internally.

Following this logic, anyone who didn't work for a Homo Sapiens Company subsidiary or affiliated organization was classified as a Social-type Employee. Everyone, regardless of age or gender, was guaranteed support.

Under such a system, unemployment naturally ceased to exist.

A child had a "job" the moment they were born. How could there be any unemployment?

"Does this apply to our families as well?"

Harold nodded. "The same."

"Okay." Zhang Kai understood now.

There were fundamentally only two choices: become an employee of the Homo Sapiens Company, or pack up and get out. There was no third option.

Zhang Kai thought about his parents, who were in their seventies, plus his wife and children—a family of seven. Immigrating to Kangaroo Country would be incredibly difficult. It was better to just sponge off the Homo Sapiens Company's benefits.

"I want to become a regular employee. Is there a process I need to follow?"

Harold offered a tip, "Don't worry about it. As long as you have a bit of ambition, and with your entire family now inside the company's system, applying for a regular position is very easy."

Hearing this, Zhang Kai was surprised. "It's easier to apply for a job if you have a family?"

"If your family is within the company system, yes. After all, some positions have confidentiality requirements. A newly joined Social-type Employee without a family here would have a hard time getting one of those posts. For example, positions in the Internal Security Division and the various Internal Affairs Divisions—they don't want any newly-arrived single guys."

Zhang Kai was a little worried. "The company doesn't seem to have a semiconductor industry, does it?"

But Harold shook his head. "We'll have everything eventually. Don't ask what you're not supposed to ask. You're still strong and healthy right now. You don't need to worry about not having a job."

The vast majority of the people present chose to become Social-type Employees. Those who didn't were, in the end, a small minority.

Times were tough all over the world right now. At least within the Homo Sapiens Company, you didn't have to worry about starving to death. And as Harold said, anyone with even a little ambition could thrive here, like a fish in water.