Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle has sparked controversy by saying that workers got ‘lazy’ during the pandemic and that people should stop allowing employees to work from home. His remarks came at an investor conference hosted by Morgan Stanley on Wednesday, where he also complained about the productivity challenges facing his company.
Biffle blames remote work for low productivity
Biffle, who has more than 20 years of aviation industry experience, said that Frontier Airlines is responding to dampened demand amid the economic slowdown by doubling down on cutting costs and boosting productivity. However, he insisted that his business woes reflect a ‘society-wide’ phenomenon.
‘We got lazy in COVID,’ the budget airline boss said. ‘I mean seriously, people are still allowing people to work from home. All this silliness, right? All that’s out the window.’
He added that he does not understand why he has more people per plane in overhead than he had in 2019. ‘It’s because they’re not as productive,’ he said.
Frontier Airlines did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Biffle joins other CEOs in criticizing remote work
Biffle is among a growing cohort of chiefs to voice their disdain for remote working and push for the return to more traditional work practices – in an office, five days a week – now that the pandemic has subsided.
Tesla founder Elon Musk, for instance, wrote on Twitter last year that ‘all the COVID stay-at-home stuff has tricked people into thinking that you don’t actually need to work hard’. He has also taken the same approach at SpaceX and Tesla, where he wants workers in the office for at least 40 hours a week and has praised staff who work through the night ‘burning the 3 a.m. oil’.
Other CEOs who have expressed their preference for in-person work include Netflix’s Reed Hastings, who called remote work ‘a pure negative’, and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, who said it ‘does not work for young people’ and ‘those who want to hustle’.
Biffle faces criticism from workers and experts
Biffle’s comments have drawn criticism from workers and experts who argue that remote work can be beneficial for both employees and employers. They point out that remote work can increase flexibility, productivity, diversity, and employee satisfaction, while reducing costs, stress, and environmental impact.
Some workers also took to social media to express their frustration with Biffle’s remarks. One Twitter user wrote: ‘Frontier Airlines CEO thinks workers got lazy during COVID. Maybe he should try working from home with kids, pets, spouses, etc. and see how easy it is.’
Another user commented: ‘Frontier Airlines CEO thinks workers got lazy during COVID. I think Frontier Airlines CEO got greedy during COVID. He wants to force his employees to get vaccinated or pay more for health insurance. How about paying them more instead?’
Biffle announced earlier this month that Frontier Airlines will require employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19 or regularly provide proof of negative tests by Oct. 1. He said the decision was due to the rapid rise in delta-variant Covid cases.
