WATCH: United CEO Sure Seems Cheerful Saying ‘I Feel Bad For’ Firing 593 Workers Who Refused Vaccine

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby didn’t seem all that broken up when he told CNBC’s Phil LeBeau that he “feels bad for” the 593 workers who’ve been fired for refusing the company’s vaccine mandate and that United’s vaccination rate “proves vaccine mandates work.”

On Wednesday morning’s edition of Squawk on the Street, LeBeau interviewed Kirby about the airline’s firing of 593 workers as it works to comply with the vaccine and testing mandate that President Joe Biden announced earlier this month.

“You have 97 percent compliance, 97 percent of your employees saying they’re getting at least one shot. They’ll be fully vaccinated in the next couple of weeks if they aren’t already. And yet you’re going to have to fire 593 workers,” LeBeau said, and asked, “What are your thoughts about having to cut those workers?”

A decidedly cheerful Kirby began by saying “Well, look, I’m really proud and gratified that the United team, excluding the people that have applied for religious or medical accommodation, over 99 percent got vaccinated. It proves that vaccine mandates do work, and that you can get a huge percentage of your workforce vaccinated.”

He went on to say that “I feel bad for the 593 people, the less than one percent, that are going to leave. But we were focused on doing the right thing for United Airlines. And it’s great to have this in the rearview mirror for us and the ability to just move forward now.”

Kirby was also asked what the business impact would be of losing those workers, and not having the 2,000 or so who have applied for exemptions on the front lines.

“You know, there’s no impact,” Kirby said. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite at United Airlines. It’s such a small percentage. And we planned and prepared for this that we’re now able to, you know, confidently run a strong operation.”

Kirby added that while the Biden mandate could go into effect as early as December, “[A]t United Airlines, there’s no worry at all because we’ll have everyone that’s working at the airport already vaccinated,” and that “because everyone is vaccinated, will know that we’ve met any of the requirements that are going to be put in place by the federal government and be ready to run a great operation with a fully vaccinated workforce.”

The employer mandate has overwhelming public support, according to polls.

Watch above via CNBC.