George Calombaris has been forced out of business thanks to ‘unhelpful’ comments from unions and government, according to Innes Willox.

Celebrity chef Calombaris’ restaurant group, Made Establishment, has gone into voluntary administration following a wage theft scandal.

In July, he was given a $200,000 fine for underpaying workers $7.8 million.

Ai Group Chief Executive Innes Willox has now been heavily criticised after he suggested Calombaris had been unfairly vilified in the saga.

He claimed terms such as ‘wage theft’ are not helpful as the majority of underpayments are unintentional.

Janine Perrett grills him over the issue, asking whether he really considers Calombaris to be the victim, rather than his workers.

“What’s happened here, Janine, is that the union movement and others, including sometimes the language from the federal government, has been completely over the top here.

“What that has done is create a situation where George Calombaris, who had stood up, admitted there’d been underpayments… has essentially been driven out of business.”

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Image: Getty/Daniel Munoz