Holy Roman Empire

The royal family wants fame, not everything can be earned.It is also a good thing to withdraw early, so as to save resources to deal with the aftermath later.

Others don't know, but Franz does know that the Panama Canal will not be open to navigation in the next 30 years.

It's not a technical problem, it's mainly politically not allowed.The Vienna government has always held objections and did not take action. It is because the canal has just been dug and there is no hurry.

The French capitalist’s investment in the Austrian royal family is essentially to reassure shareholders and give the outside world the illusion that the Vienna government will not intervene.

If he hadn't known that these people were only trying to harvest money in the stock market, Franz would not have participated in it, no matter how lucrative the profits were.

The purpose of the platform has been achieved, and there is nothing wrong with leaving the venue with the appearance fee.As for the life and death of the Panama Canal Company, it has nothing to do with an investor who left early.

Anyway, the Panama Canal was listed in Paris, and it was French investors who were cheated, and had little to do with Austria.

If the canal company really went bankrupt, it would not be Franz's turn to take the blame.

……

Chapter 242 I'm in trouble

The prosperity of the market has also led to the prosperity of the stock market. In the face of good news, everyone's confidence has reached its peak.

It is easier to retreat in the stock market than in the physical property fire sale.Originally, there were selling and buying in the market every day, and an increase of a few percentage points was also a normal fluctuation of the market.

It's not a period of economic crisis. Such small fluctuations are completely within the market's tolerance range. The most typical is that the stock price continues to rise.

Frankly speaking, speculation in the stock market is far more profitable than manufacturing.However, there are advantages and disadvantages, and high returns are also accompanied by high risks.

You can’t make much money without leverage, and leverage is very risky. Many times, an accidental fluctuation in the market will take away a large number of speculators.

In contrast, the physical industry was much more robust, at least in the 19th century.

No matter how the market changes, as long as the company itself has no problems, the loss will be within the controllable range.If the market is not good, the big deal is to reduce production capacity.

"Bankruptcy" is usually caused by the company's own problems, for example: the debt is too high, and a large amount of profit is needed to repay the loan; or there are management problems, the equipment is not replaced in time, and the product loses market competitiveness; or the inventory is too high , took up a lot of money...

It is rare for a company to be squeezed into bankruptcy when there is no problem with the company itself.To put it bluntly, everyone does business to make money.

Blindly lowering the price, making a profit at a loss, the capitalists are not that stupid.Except those who want to monopolize the market.In order to monopolize the market and lose money, it can only be regarded as the initial investment.

For most industries, there are no monopoly conditions.The barriers to entry are too low, and once a wave of competitors are suppressed, new ones will emerge, making it impossible to monopolize.

Business is not a battle of spirits. Capitalists usually don't do things that kill one thousand and lose eight hundred.

The market competition is cruel, nothing more than thinning profits.If the entire industry enters a state of losing money, it means that the industry will be eliminated.

Under normal circumstances, even if the economic crisis breaks out and the Great Depression comes, only some companies will lose money, and most companies will suffer from declining performance and reduced profits.

If it really operates normally, does not have a lot of debt, and a company with strong market competitiveness can still survive.

After all, it is only the late 19th century. There are less than 10 countries in the world that have completed industrialization, and there are only two and a half real industrial powers. The market is still in a state of barbaric growth, and the competition is far less fierce than in later generations.

Under the law of the jungle where the weak prey on the strong, the market will return to normal after some of the weak are eliminated.A new round of war will not break out until the victor has digested the spoils.

It can be said that this is the golden age of the capitalist economy. As long as the opportunity is grasped, there are too many opportunities to make a fortune.

……

The market is booming, factories have sprung up one after another, job advertisements are posted all over the streets, but there are very few applicants.

As the largest city on the border between Austria and France, Milan was also the first choice for Italian laborers to enter Austria.The advantages of being close to home and high wages attract a large number of Italians every year.

With the British textile industry dominating, the Milan textile center was able to rise against the trend and become one of the world's three major textile centers. The cheap labor in Italy also contributed a lot.

Although Austria has restrictions on foreign labor, it is not completely prohibited.If you pass the language test and are accepted by an enterprise, you can enter the country.

This is very inconvenient. It is very troublesome for companies to recruit people across borders, let alone teach them to speak German, which takes too long.

"There are policies and measures to counter".Many migrant workers are brought here by relatives and friends, and they are looking for work after entering Austria.

Compared with other parts of Austria, the Kingdom of Lombardy has less strict management of migrant workers due to its own particularity.

Many people are employed first, and then learn the language.Anyway, the factory is also semi-closed, as long as you don't go out and get caught by the police, no one will go into it.

In this context, the underground talent recruitment market was born.Newfoundland Avenue outside Milan is one of the places where factories recruit cheap labor.

At this time in normal times, the streets of Newfoundland are already noisy, and a large number of people who need work line up in a long queue, looking for a job opportunity.

I don't know when it started, but it suddenly became deserted.Not only Newfoundland Avenue, but also many labor recruitment markets in Austria have become deserted. In some areas, there were even more recruiters than applicants.

Mirko is one of the recruits, working in the machinery factory of Daniel Group.Usually he would not know Newfoundland Avenue, which is the lowest-end talent recruitment market in Milan, and most of the applicants are foreign workers.

Not only is the level of education insufficient, but it also takes a lot of time to conduct skills training.After wasting a lot of energy, only basic industry workers are trained.

In contrast, Mirko prefers to go out of the urban talent recruitment center.Although the salary needs to be paid is higher, the quality of the applicants is also higher. After entering the factory for several years of training, the outstanding ones can be used as junior skilled workers.

For machinery factories, such skilled workers are far more valuable than pure coolies.

Only industries with a large demand for labor, repetitive work, and no need for technology will recruit such coolies in large numbers.

Contempt is contempt, many companies are expanding their production capacity recently, there is a huge labor gap, and there is a lot of competition.

I participated in several job fairs in the urban area, but failed to complete the recruitment task.After the equipment has been debugged, just waiting for the workers to start work, Mirko had to lower the recruitment standards.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Mirko couldn't believe his eyes. Is this the hottest talent recruitment market in Milan? Why didn't he see a few people?

Having been engaged in recruitment work for a long time, Mirko still has a wide network of contacts, and he quickly met acquaintances in the same industry.

"Ferren, what's going on, have you snatched everyone away?"

The middle-aged man rolled his eyes and asked, "Do you think I look like someone who has gained something?"

Mirko nodded: "Indeed, with the treatment of your textile factory, it is indeed difficult to rob people. However, you can fool foreign fools."

Fei Lun frowned, dissatisfied: "Mirko is enough, we are all in the same industry, and saving costs for the boss is our essential job.

Every time I recruit, I always explain the salary clearly, and sign the contract according to the law, how can it be considered a fool? "

Mirko smiled slightly and did not continue the topic.If he didn't know this middle-aged fat man, he would really think he was a good person.

Back then, Mirko was almost fooled into signing a prostitution contract when he was just a fledgling.Fortunately, he is a local, graduated from middle school, and can be regarded as a high-level intellectual. After learning about his identity, Fei Lun didn't want to cause trouble and gave up.

Although Milan is a subordinate state, as the process of legal integration advances, labor protection laws also need to be complied with.

This kind of seriously unfair prostitution contract is fine if no one sues it. Once it is stabbed up, the company will still be unable to bear it.

In contrast, it is much safer to fool migrant workers.As long as the place where the contract is signed is in a foreign country, it is considered a transnational case, and the opposite law must also be referred to. The Milan government is not so free, and at most it will declare the contract invalid and finish.

If they were not tricked, the relationship between the two is not good.It's just because of the business relationship, I have to deal with them a lot, and I gradually become familiar with them, and I am one level away from friends.

Mirko changed the subject and said, "Ferren, I heard that your boss has opened two new branches. There is such a big labor gap. What are you going to do? Are you interested in organizing a group to recruit in the inland areas?"

Funds for recruitment activities are limited these days. In order to save costs, it is most common for several companies to act together to share the costs.

Phelan didn't even think about it, and shook his head directly: "Mirko, you think too well. The current situation is that the whole country is short of labor, and even the whole of Europe is short of people.

If you rarely come to Newfoundland Street, you don’t know that the number of workers entering Milan from Italy has dropped by nearly [-]% in the past two months.

I asked them. It is said that many new factories have opened in Italy recently, and many people can find jobs in their hometowns, but many people do not come here.

This is the case in Italy, so does it need to be said in China?The labor panic published in the newspaper is not a joke.I have already proposed to the boss that the plan for the new branch will be postponed.

In the big migration strategy in the past few years, many of the domestic surplus labor force have entered Africa.If you want to solve the labor shortage, unless you encourage farmers to move to cities. "

Mirko was speechless, encouraging farmers to go to the city was not as simple as saying.The life of the farmers is not bad now, but it is not easy for them to give up their land and go to the cities to work.

It is best to promote at the government level, formulate more favorable policies, and accelerate the process of urbanization.

Regrettably, the Vienna government believes that there is excess domestic production capacity, and it is too late for the government to curb the rapid growth of production capacity. How could it introduce policies to expand the crisis?

Urbanization is risky, and the sooner the better, the better.If the crisis breaks out and the enterprises cannot withstand bankruptcy, the pressure of unemployment will all fall on the shoulders of the government.

In the case of immature conditions, Franz would rather slow down the urbanization.Peasants are still easier to govern than workers.

As long as there is land and the food produced by the family can fill the stomach, everyone will not rebel.The government can also reap a wave of popular support by reducing and exempting part of the tax.

Workers are different. Once the unemployment wave comes, the crisis will come.No way to fill their stomachs, the revolution broke out every minute.

With the current productivity, it cannot support a high degree of urbanization.It will take at least 50 years for the era of urbanization economy to come.

Even the British with the highest urbanization still have one-third of the agricultural population, not to mention Austria, a big agricultural country.

After pausing for a moment, Mirko said slowly: "Speak, Faerun. I know you have a plan. As long as it is feasible, your favor fee will be indispensable."

Mirko knew that Fei Lun was the one who didn't see the rabbit or the eagle, and if there were not enough benefits, he would definitely not tell him the plan.

Glancing at Mirko, Phelan shook his head: "It's not about the benefits, the point is that our two families can't do it yet.

If you want to recruit people in the countryside, you must deal with nobles.You should be clear that with the changes that have taken place in China in recent years, it is difficult for us to obtain cheap labor without their intervention. "

Mirko nodded, which is also one of Austria's characteristics.The nobles gave up serfdom and some fiefdoms, but they still had great local influence.

It's fine if you make small troubles, but once you find people on a large scale, you will have to deal with local snakes.

Even now, there are still many traditional aristocrats who dislike capitalists.

These people have a reason to step in, whether it is to get a sigh of relief or to enhance their local reputation.

For example: Negotiate wages with them as workers' representatives, and sign labor contracts uniformly.

They have plenty of ways to fool ordinary workers, but it is not easy to fool these nobles.

If something goes wrong, they will still suffer.

All follow the formal procedures, and the labor cost will increase by at least 15.00%.One or two people are inconspicuous, and once the number increases, the cost is not small.

Increased expenses are only one of the problems. The treatment of new employees exceeds that of old employees, which will inevitably cause troubles later.

After thinking about it, Mirko shook his head: "This matter has to be a game with the nobles. It involves too much. I can't make the decision. It needs to be reported to the company headquarters for a decision. I don't know if it will pass."

Mirko is self-aware that this kind of thing is simply not something he can participate in. Even if many people join forces, they may not be able to achieve their goals.

Although Austria is a capitalist country, the power of capital is still very limited politically. It is too risky to compete with the nobles for the right to speak.

Sensing Mirko's strangeness, Fei Lun hurriedly remedied: "No, Mirko. You think too much. I haven't lived enough, so I'm not going to court death. What I mean is that everyone contributes money together and finds a way from abroad."

During the conversation, Fei Lun broke out in a cold sweat. Didn't he just want to pretend to be coercive, and he was actually thought of to provoke a conflict between capital and nobles.

Whoever touches this thing will die, not to mention a little guy like Fei Lun, even if their boss is involved, he will die.

It is too difficult.

Chapter 243 Repairing

The general trend cannot be shaken by a few pawns, and the introduction of cheap foreign labor is not that simple. Except for the support of the capitalists, everyone else is against it.

Without it, only benefit you.

The influx of a large number of cheap foreign labor will not only impact the domestic salary system, but also affect social security.If everyone's vital interests are damaged, it is natural to oppose it.

On this issue, the position of the Vienna government has always been firm.The distinction between primary and secondary is very clear.

It is impossible to ignore the foundation of the country because of the interests of capitalists.Apart from high-tech talents, ordinary migrant workers are not welcome in Austria.

From the national level, the people in the country get income, and the money still stays in the country for circulation; after the migrant workers get paid, except for the needs of life, most of the rest go out.

The outflow of wealth is definitely detrimental to the development of the country. Unless there is a real shortage of labor force and foreign labor must be used to make up for it, no government will welcome it.

Austria's labor shortage is only due to the impact of the war, and there is a temporary shortage of short-term labor.As long as capitalists stop expanding blindly, this problem will not exist.

Laborers brought in openly are different from those who come in secretly to work illegally.The latter is illegal employment and can be deported at any time; the former has signed a contract and is legal employment, so it must not be so rough.

It is necessary to introduce a large number of foreign workers. Once the post-war economic crisis breaks out, the domestic employment and labor salary system will be impacted and fragmented, and the crisis will be further aggravated under the vicious circle.

The government did not try to stop the blind expansion of the capitalists, but it was affected by the shortage of labor force to curb this wave of expansion. This ending is quite comical.

In the face of interests, all difficulties can be overcome.If the labor force is insufficient, then poach corners. After Christmas, a talent war broke out in Austria.

In order to recruit more workers, many companies offer preferential conditions that are usually unimaginable, such as: free lunch, free accommodation...

In this context, in 1880, the number of labor disputes accepted by the labor inspection department hit a record low, and social class conflicts tended to ease.

The rise in labor costs has also led to an increase in business operating costs, but this small problem is not worth mentioning in the face of war.

In a favorable situation, the "golden age" keeps appearing in the newspapers, and many people are optimistic that this is another period of outbreak of the capitalist economy.

The people did not know the seriousness of the consequences, but Franz had to be vigilant.Prosperity is brought about by war, and once the war is over, it cannot last.

While people's income is increasing, prices are also slowly rising.Once the war is over, this deformed prosperity will certainly not continue.

The post-war economic bubble was punctured, the crisis of overcapacity broke out, market competition became more brutal, and corporate profits dropped sharply.

With the integrity of capitalists, lowering labor costs is an inevitable result when profits are falling.Layoffs and lower salaries are the most common means.

The income has decreased, but the prices have reached a high level. The life of the people at the bottom will become more and more difficult, and a crisis is about to appear.