Nothing quite says corporate greed (and unmitigated gall) like a CEO (in this case, Andi Owen of office furniture giant MillerKnoll) laying into greedy employees who asked about their missing bonuses on a Zoom call.

‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there.’ So people, leave pity city. Let’s get it done,” she said before wishing people a great day.

Source: Vice News

The CEO of an office furniture giant lambasted employees in a March town hall that has since circulated online, telling them to “leave pity city” after she was asked about bonuses during a difficult moment for the company and the broader industry.

In the video, MillerKnoll CEO and president Andi Owen addressed questions—some of which were “not so nice,” she said—about how workers could stay motivated without confidence they would receive a bonus. Owen started calmly, telling workers to focus on what was within their control, like high-quality customer service and treating one another with kindness and respect.

Quickly, however, Owen’s tone changed as she became visibly agitated and started waving her hand in the air as she spoke.

“Don't ask about: What are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus?” she asked. “Get the damn $26 million. Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need and not thinking about what you’re going to do if you don’t get a bonus. Alright? Can I get some commitment for that?” Then, she whispered for emphasis: “I would appreciate that.” (The $26 million is an internal metric that the company was unwilling to discuss publicly.)

She then continued by quoting the advice of a former manager.

“I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there.’ So people, leave pity city. Let’s get it done,” she said before wishing people a great day.

According to Vice, "Owen received bonuses of $1.29 million last year and $1.12 million in 2021."