A millionaire property developer who bluntly told Australian laborers they are being paid too much to do too little and that unemployment needed to rise so workers experienced “pain” has issued an apology and declared he “deeply regrets” the remarks.
Gurner Group chief executive Tim Gurner, 40, blamed the Covid pandemic for a big part of the problem and urged Australians to “kill” the work-less-for-more-pay-ethos.
The remarks went viral sparking international condemnation and claims the millionaire lacked empathy for workers and that his views were “disgusting.”
“You know, tradies [Australian slanf for laborers] have definitely pulled back on productivity,” Gurner said in the video.
“They have been paid a lot to do not too much in the last few years. And we need to see that change. I think the problem that we’ve had is that we have people who decided they didn’t really want to work so much anymore through Covid.”
Gurner made the remarks at The Australian Financial Review’s Property Summit on Tuesday.
“We need to remind people that they work for the employer, not the other way around,” he said.
“We need to see unemployment rise, unemployment has to jump 40-50 percent. In my view, we need to see pain in the economy. I mean, there’s been a systematic change where employees feel the employer is extremely lucky to have them as opposed to the other way around.”
But in a statement released on Thursday night, he said he had reflected on the remarks and the furor that followed.
“At the AFR Property Summit this week I made some remarks about unemployment and productivity in Australia that I deeply regret and were wrong,’’ he said.
“There are clearly important conversations to have in this environment of high inflation, pricing pressures on housing and rentals due to a lack of supply, and other cost of living issues. My comments were deeply insensitive to employees, tradies, and families across Australia who are affected by these cost-of-living pressures and job losses.
“I want to be clear: I do appreciate that when someone loses their job it has a profound impact on them and their families and I sincerely regret that my words did not convey empathy for those in that situation.”
Gurner previously sparked national headlines in 2017 when he accused younger workers of spending too much money on smashed avocados.
“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,” he said.
“This generation is watching the Kardashians and thinking that’s normal — thinking owning a Bentley is normal.”
Mr Gurner has also previously told Forbes Australia in an exclusive report that he’s “tried everything” in his own life to boost productivity and wellness including IV drips, infra-red saunas, and psychedelic mushrooms.
“From micro-dosing mushrooms to infra-red saunas to steam to Oura, lymphatic drainage. Everything. I want to try everything and see what works for me,’’ he said.
The Australian Financial Review reported today that a senior manager at Gurner’s Saint Haven network sent a memo to staff on Wednesday addressing the comments.
“To our Saint Haven family … I want to start by saying I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tim for almost two years now and can hand on heart say that his care and love for both the Gurner Group and Saint Haven team is immense,’’ the note said.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
