You know, we’re not opening a can of whup-ass here

[zeonis]

I don't understand the bolded sentences.

It’s about changing our focus from just the short term to much more medium and long term and making the investments that we
need to make. You know, we’re not opening a can of whup-ass here; we’re opening a whole whup-ass factory.”
They got it. And they loved it.

It is from Michael Dell's address to his employees.

 

[SoothingDave]

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+can+of+whoop-ass

 

[Tarheel]

It's a motivational speech. He's talking about what they're going to do to the competition.

 

[zeonis]

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+can+of+whoop-ass

Thank you for your answer. Opening up a can of whup-ass means threatening someone, then what does "opening a whole whup-ass factory" mean?
It is still confusing. What does he want to do specifically?

 

[emsr2d2]

Consider the difference in size between a can and a factory. That should give you a clue.

 

[Tdol]

He's making a huge threat, not a small one, to their competitors.

 

[Tarheel]

Zeonis, it's not a threat. Not exactly. He's saying they're going to demolish the competition. I guess you could see that as a threat, but he means they're going to outwork them and outsell them.

 

[probus]

@zeonis: it's a very joking way of saying it.

 

[Phaedrus]

 

[zeonis]

Zeonis, it's not a threat. Not exactly. He's saying they're going to demolish the competition. I guess you could see that as a threat, but he means they're going to outwork them and outsell them.

Thank you very much. These kinds of sentences are very difficult for non-native speakers to understand.