Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey made a jibe about remote workers being 'losers' while touting the benefits of visiting the city's business district.
Frey was speaking during the Minneapolis Downtown Council's annual meeting on Wednesday about his vision for downtown Minneapolis — the city's central business district, as reported by Fox 9. The area has struggled with empty office buildings as people continue to work remotely.
"Come back to work," the mayor said during the address. "I don't know if you saw this study the other day, but what this study clearly showed is that when people who have the ability to come downtown to an office, don't.
"When they stay home, sitting on their couch with their nasty cat blanket, diddling on their laptop. If they do that for a few months, you become a loser. It's a study. We're not losers, are we?"
He added: "We're winners, we're resilient, we're tough, we're strong, we're innovative. We rise to the challenge, we get knocked down seven times, and we get back up eight. That is who we are as a city."
Although the remarks appeared to be a joke, Frey has previously emphasized the issue of empty office buildings in the district.
He said that office buildings in the district will only go back to being "75% to 80% occupied" at maximum since the pandemic, which leaves a lot of office space unused, per CBS News.
And as remote work continues to persist, the demand for traditional office spaces is also decreasing.
As a result, Frey proposed revitalization efforts in 2023 to turn the area into a "playground" with bars, restaurants, and other attractions. Part of these efforts include encouraging businesses to bring workers back to the office.
The mayor's views are shared by major companies across the US. Firms like Meta, Salesforce, and X have walked back their flexible working policies and have put in place strict return-to-office mandates.