LOUISVILLE, KY – A 60-year-old United Auto Workers (UAW) member who was fired from Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant over the alleged theft of a $1.95 cookie has been offered his job back along with a $28,000 back pay settlement after bank records proved he had actually paid for the snack.
The Incident
Kurt Kromm, an 11-year veteran at the Louisville facility, stated that the incident occurred during a Saturday night shift around 3:30 a.m. Kromm, who is diabetic, went to the plant’s break room after experiencing low blood sugar to purchase a Grandma’s chocolate chip cookie from an Aramark self-checkout kiosk.
According to Kromm, the first kiosk flashed a failed transaction error. He then moved to a second kiosk, successfully completed the digital payment, ate the cookie, and returned to work.
Accusation And Suspension
A week later, plant management confronted Kromm, stating that surveillance footage caught him stealing the snack. He was escorted from the property by security and terminated.
Kromm subsequently pulled his official bank statements, which clearly showed a completed $1.95 charge from the Aramark kiosk on the night in question. Other long-term employees at the plant later noted that the self-checkout kiosks are notorious for payment processing errors and glitches.
Settlement And Policy Change
After receiving notarized bank statements proving the payment, Ford management confirmed the transaction with Aramark. Ford offered Kromm reinstatement and issued approximately $28,000 in back pay for the five weeks of work he missed during the dispute.
A Ford spokesperson addressed the situation by stating there are “times when we look into things and realize it could have been handled different.”
Kromm ultimately declined to return to his position at the Kentucky Truck Plant and has accepted a new job in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Following the incident, Ford has reportedly agreed to adjust its corporate policy, opting to suspend workers during kiosk payment disputes rather than issuing immediate terminations.
