Employer leader says sorry for calling unemployed lazy, uninspired

Hans de Boer, head of employers' organization VNO-NCW, has apologized for calling unemployed people lazy and disinterested in an interview with the Volkskrant on Wednesday. "I should not have used the words lazy lout in that context. I am genuinely sorry if I've hurt people with it. That was not my intention", De Boer said later on Wednesday, the Telegraaf reports. "I wanted to point out the flaws in the system of benefits and bonuses, but it is clear that I should have done so with different words."