ORLANDO, Fla. – Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel tells Local 6 on Thursday the email he sent to his 7,000 employees , which warned them jobs are at risk if the president is re-elected, was necessary to inform his employees the consequences of re-electing President Obama.
"We had to downsize the company the last 4 years without Obamacare, without higher taxes," Siegel told Local 6 anchor Lauren Rowe. "Now add Obamacare and higher taxes to the equation, and I can almost guarantee that we're gonna have to downsize for the next 4 years if Obama gets re-elected."
In the memo, Siegel wrote, "The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration."
When asked if that was fair to send that kind of message to his employees, Siegel said he was trying to inform his employees.
"An informed voter is a good voter. I wanted them to know what the future could hold if the wrong person gets elected," Siegel said. "I think I owe it to them. if they were my children I'd tell them the same thing."
Siegel stressed to Local 6 on Thursday that the email wasn't meant to be a threat and that he doesn't think there's anything in the email that should make his employees angry.
In the email, Siegel writes, "If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone."
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Siegel recently came into the public spotlight for the construction on his 90,000 square foot mansion, which was a backdrop of a documentary about his life called "The Queen of Versailles."
You can watch Siegel's full interview on "Flashpoint" on Local 6 Sunday at 8 a.m.
