(Bloomberg) — Bill Gross said he was fired from Pacific Investment Management Co., the first time he's publicly confirmed that he was dismissed from the firm he co-founded in 1971.

Gross, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg View's Barry Ritholtz, said he offered to step down from the executive committee and compensation committee and oversee closed-end funds after differences with management over his personality and the firm's business direction. The full interview airs on Bloomberg Radio on Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. in New York.

"For some reason still unbeknownst to me, they didn't think that was a good idea and they did fire me," Gross, who managed the world's largest bond fund until his unexpected departure on Sept. 26 when he joined Janus Capital Group Inc., said in the interview. "In the last few weeks, it blindsided me; I had no idea that an executive committee could fire a founder and the titular leader of the company."