A CEO is getting a lot of unwanted attention online after an employee is alleged to have leaked a Zoom call of her telling staff members they weren’t getting a bonus. But get this… she generously paid herself $1.2 million on top of her salary last year, bringing her total income to just over $5 million. The video has left a lot of people feeling outraged, and rightfully so, as Andi Owen, the CEO and president of US furniture store MillerKnoll, told staff to “leave pity city” for their complaints. People are furious that a woman who earned over a million dollars in bonuses for 2022 alone could tell workers they shouldn’t moan about it.
Owen further told them that they needed to stop thinking about what they were going to do if they weren’t to receive one. She then continued, “Get the damn $26 million,” which is believed to have been the company’s sales target. “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? I would appreciate that.”
zoom call from a ceo who cancelled all employee bonuses but took a $6.4 million bonus herself pic.twitter.com/SMZP6QQYCX
— Warren Commission Test Skull (@conzmoleman) April 17, 2023
Multiple reports claim that Owen was paid $4.9 million in 2022, with $1.2 million of that sum stemming from the bonus she received. The year prior, she receive slightly less in bonuses — around $1.1 million — while her expected extra payment for the financial year ending in June has yet to be decided. “I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there,'” she told staffers. “So people, leave pity city. Let’s get it done.”
A spokesperson for MillerKnoll has since reacted to the viral video clip, claiming that what Owen said had completely been taken out of context and that the meeting actually lasted 75 minutes. “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,” Kris Marubio expressed.
Supposedly, most of the Zoom call heard Owen talk about positive things at the company and the people that work there. Per her LinkedIn page, Owen has been at the company for just under two years, but people on social media are calling for her to be fired, saying she doesn’t value the people that work under her by any means.
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“CEOs should have to cancel they own bonus completely before they are allowed to touch employ bonuses,” one person wrote.
Another person tweeted, “About a decade ago I left a terrible company, but my colleagues that were there suffered a salary reduction. During the meeting with the MD in our regional office a worker asked why execs didn’t cut their salaries. MD said ‘it’s not the same, we have lifestyles to maintain.'”
Another person tried to lighten the mood, commenting, “I know I mismanaged funds and stole 6.4 million from your bonuses but GO OUT THERE AND GET ME 26 MILLION MORE AND BE NICE ABOUT IT.”