An Australian property developer and one of the country’s richest men, apologised after he said that unemployment should jump to remind arrogant workers of their place, BBC News reports. "We need to see pain in the economy," Tim Gurner had said. But Gurner said later that he ‘deeply’ regretted the comments, which sparked a global backlash. Video of his comments has gone viral, attracting over 23 million views and strong criticism online. Speaking during a property summit this week, Gurner said the Covid-19 pandemic had changed employees' attitudes and work ethics for the worse, singling out builders as an example. He claimed this shift is hitting productivity in the sector, which, combined with tougher regulations, is fuelling Australia's housing shortage.

Gurner proposed the country's current unemployment rate of 3.7% should rise by 40-50% to reduce ‘arrogance in the employment market’. That would see more than 200,000 people lose their jobs. "There's been a systematic change where employees feel the employer is extremely lucky to have them," Gurner said. "We need to remind people they work for the employer, not the other way around." Gurner said in a post on LinkedIn that he had ‘made some remarks about unemployment and productivity in Australia that I deeply regret and were wrong’.

He said his comments were ‘deeply insensitive’ to employees, tradespeople, and families ‘across Australia’ who are affected by cost of living pressures and job losses. Gurner is the chief executive and founder of Gurner Group and has an estimated worth of AUD 929 million (USD 598 million). He has previously spoken about how loans from his grandfather and former boss helped him get his start as a business owner.