Millionaire boss who kept her bonus tells staff to ‘leave pity city’ after cancelling their bonuses
CEO Andi Owen claims the the video was taken 'out of context'.
Ali Condon
A CEO is facing heavy backlash after a video of her telling staff worried about bonuses to 'leave Pity City' went viral - despite previously receiving millions in bonuses, herself.
Boss of office furniture company MillerKnoll, Andi Owen, appeared to lash out at concerned employees in a digital town hall meeting last month when they asked whether or not they'd be earning bonuses. Take a look:
While Owens' response started off calm and quiet, it took a turn pretty quickly.
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It was toward the end of the 75-minute long town hall when Owen, the president of the company, addressed workers who had asked how they were supposed to stay motivated if they weren't going to receive a bonus.
"The most important thing we can do right now is focus on the things we can control," she began. The things they can control being 'providing the best customer service we can', and 'treating each other well.'
"It's not good to be in the situation we're in today, but we're not going to be here forever. It is going to get better, so lead by example, treat people well, talk to them, be kind, and get after it."
Changing her tone pretty abruptly, Owen then told her staff: "Don't ask about, 'what are we going to do if you don't get a bonus?' Get the damn $26 million!"
The $26 million Owen is referring to is reportedly an internal metric within the company.
"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!
"All right? Can I get some commitment for that? I would appreciate that."
She continued: "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. Thank you, have a great day."
Yeesh.
And this is a lesson on why you should always watch what you say when there are cameras on you, because it's almost guaranteed to come back to haunt you, even if your words are 'taken out of context'.
It wasn't long before that clip from the meeting started circulating online, leading to some pretty intense backlash.
A spokesperson for the company has told CNN that that clip did not show the full context of what was described as a mostly positive meeting.
"Andi fiercely believes in this team and all we can accomplish together, and will not be dissuaded by a 90-second clip taken out of context and posted on social media," read the statement.
For her work as the CEO - a position she has held since July 2021, Owen has previously received a bonus of $1.12 million in 2021 and of $1.29 million in 2022.
Overall in 2022, she took home $5 million, according to MillerKnoll's proxy filing with Securities and Exchange Commission.
UniLad has approached MillerKnoll for comment.