A Ford electrician, wrongly accused of stealing a $1.95 cookie, has refused the automaker's offer to return to work, even with back pay. Kurt Kromm, who had worked for 11 years at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, was terminated on May 16 after being accused of taking a cookie from an Aramark self-checkout kiosk without paying.
The incident began on May 9 when Kromm, a diabetic whose blood sugar had dropped during his overnight shift, attempted to purchase two cookies for $1.95. He swiped his debit card, but the kiosk indicated a failed transaction. Believing he had paid, Kromm returned to his duties.
A week later, supervisors presented him with surveillance footage and terminated his employment. Ford escorted him from the plant without allowing him to retrieve personal belongings.
Kromm later gathered evidence, including his bank records and a photograph of the kiosk's price, that showed the $1.95 charge had indeed been processed. He provided this information to Ford labor executives and union officials.
Approximately 10 days later, Ford requested a notarized bank statement, which Kromm supplied. Weeks after that, the company offered him reinstatement with full back pay, totaling roughly $33,000, and invited him to return to his position.
However, Kromm declined the offer, stating he was emotionally unable to return after the ordeal. He expressed disappointment that he never received a sincere apology from the company. "There was no apology. There was no serious, ‘We're sorry,’" Kromm told The Post. "There was just, ‘Oh, you're not coming back?’ No, I am not interested in coming back."
Kromm, who spent 11 years repairing robots and automated equipment at the plant, felt the company had wronged him. "I expected to work for Ford until I retired," he said. "I loved working for Ford. I never thought it would end this way. It was a home away from home. This was tremendously difficult for me, but I couldn’t go back. I just couldn’t do it."
Ford, in a statement to The Post, acknowledged that "there are times when we look into things and realize it could have been handled differently. When that happens, we try to rectify it." The company's spokesperson added that "our focus is on delivering top-quality vehicles."
Kromm also placed some blame on Aramark, the vendor operating the self-checkout kiosks, alleging they forwarded surveillance footage to Ford without verifying if the payment had been processed. He stated that Aramark "lied about me" and that they "all they had to do was look for a transaction at that time, and they would’ve saw I bought a cookie."
An Aramark spokesperson told The Post that the company "fully cooperate[s] with investigations of this nature" and remains focused on providing convenient snack options. The Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance had previously found Kromm eligible for benefits following his termination.