Targeted Strike

Chapter 736: Targeted Strike

As France's largest flax-textile center, Lyon—long famed as the "Silk Center of Europe"—had now grown into a major metropolis second only to Paris.

At this moment, however, this dazzling pearl had lost its luster. Under the impact of British and Austrian dumping, France's industrial and commercial sectors faced their cruelest challenge yet.

The vast majority of businesses had already announced layoffs and production cuts. The army of job seekers on the streets grew by the day, while new openings were few and far between.

Nearly every recruitment drive caused a stir. Even when only three or five people were being hired, dozens would apply.

It could be said that this was the easiest time for French companies to recruit staff, allowing them to pick and choose the finest employees at will.

The companies able to hire against the market trend were all the strongest players. What was a crisis to ordinary enterprises was a rare opportunity for these giant predators.

Lyon Moore Textile Group was the brightest among them, with more than 170 factories of every size under its banner and a total workforce exceeding 130,000.

Its industrial chain spanned the entire textile sector, upstream and downstream alike, including cotton mills, flax mills, wool mills, silk mills, printing and dyeing plants, garment factories... and even its own raw-material plantations.

Beyond its complete industrial chain, Moore Textile Group possessed the most advanced textile technology of the age, holding more than two hundred patents.

Even after taking a blow, such a colossal behemoth possessed the strongest ability to weather risk.

Other companies had already lost everything down to the floorboards, while Moore Textile Group could still turn a profit. Though that profit had become negligible, it remained an important distinction.

In the eyes of outsiders, however, this once-glorious