Ford and food-service giant Aramark are reviewing the functionality of self-serve kiosks at Ford’s U.S. plants following allegations that payment glitches have led to workers being wrongly accused of theft and subsequently fired. At least four additional Ford workers have reportedly been terminated over alleged snack thefts from these self-checkout stations.
This controversy gained wider attention after an electrician claimed he was fired over a $1.95 package of cookies, a charge later disproven by his bank records. The electrician, Kurt Kromm, had nearly 11 years of experience at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant. He stated that during an overnight shift, after his blood sugar dropped, he purchased cookies from an Aramark kiosk. Kromm reported that the payment terminal displayed an error message, and while the transaction didn't appear to fail, it also didn't show a confirmation. Ford terminated him a week later, but after obtaining his bank records, Kromm provided a notarized statement verifying the payment had gone through. Ford eventually reinstated Kromm, paid him approximately $33,000 in back wages, and offered him his job back, which he declined.
In a separate incident at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant, a 38-year-old electrician, Nick Nabozny, was fired after being accused of taking a bag of Doritos and a package of Ritz crackers with cheese without paying. Nabozny maintains that he believed the self-checkout kiosk had processed his debit card payment, which chimed and flashed on the screen. He stated that surveillance footage showed him scanning the items and attempting to pay, but the kiosk did not clearly indicate the transaction's success or failure. Nabozny, who was on track to earn over $125,000 annually due to overtime, expressed disbelief at the accusation, questioning why he would risk his livelihood for snacks.
At least three other workers at the Michigan Assembly Plant who were also fired for alleged snack thefts have since been reinstated following investigations. Another worker, Brendan Fluker, told the Detroit Free Press that employees have long raised concerns about the reliability of Aramark’s self-checkout kiosks, citing issues such as failed transactions, double charges, and frozen screens.
Neither Ford nor Aramark has commented on the specific cases. A Ford spokesperson acknowledged that the companies are reviewing the kiosks after becoming aware of "issues raised regarding the kiosk functionality in some limited cases." Aramark stated that the company is "reviewing the instances in question" and is committed to operating "with integrity and accountability."