A wave of firings tied to vending machine “theft” accusations has spread across Ford Motor Company’s factory floors, dragging the automaker into a spiraling controversy over faulty self-checkout technology.
Four additional employees have reportedly lost their jobs in connection with disputed snack purchases, adding fuel to a scandal that began with a single package of cookies.
At the center of the latest wave sits Nick Nabozny, a Michigan Assembly Plant worker with nearly a decade of tenure at Ford.
Company officials accused him of leaving a self-checkout kiosk with a bag of Doritos and a package of Ritz crackers with cheese without completing payment.
Nabozny disputes the claim entirely, saying the kiosk chimed and displayed a confirmation screen showing his debit card had already been charged.
Reporting by the Detroit Free Press revealed Nabozny is not alone. Three other Ford employees faced strikingly similar accusations before internal reviews ultimately cleared them and restored their jobs.
Management called Nabozny into a meeting on April 27, presenting surveillance video that supposedly documented the alleged theft weeks earlier, at the close of an overtime shift.
The scene, according to multiple accounts, closely resembled another case that had already rocked the company.
Nabozny recalled demanding an explanation on the spot. “I asked, ‘What did I steal?'” he told the Free Press. A union representative reportedly answered him bluntly: “They have you on camera in the marketplace stealing food.”
He rejected the accusation without hesitation. “I never stole anything in my life. Why would I jeopardize my livelihood and my family’s livelihood to steal food when I’m making good money?” Nabozny said.
Nabozny offered a detailed account of what the footage actually captured. He said it first showed him picking up a Milky Way bar, reading the label, and setting it back down.
“I grabbed two different snacks, Doritos and Ritz Crackers with cheese,” he said. “Then it shows me going to the kiosk and scanning those two items. It shows me pulling my debit card out of my pocket, tapping it and waiting for it to register.”
The financial stakes for Nabozny were significant. He earned $40 an hour and was on pace to bring home more than $125,000 last year once overtime was factored in, according to his account.
A separate Ford worker, Brendan Fluker, told the Free Press that complaints about the kiosks — run under contract by Aramark — are nothing new.
Employees have long reported failed transactions, duplicate charges, frozen screens, and receipts that never print.
The mounting pattern of workers being labeled thieves over what may be simple technical glitches has forced both companies into damage control.
Ford and Aramark are now jointly reviewing the kiosk systems installed across the automaker’s U.S. manufacturing plants.
Ford has stopped short of discussing individual personnel cases but confirmed to the Daily Mail that a review is underway into “limited instances where Aramark kiosk issues have been raised.”
A company spokesperson defended the technology itself, stating, “We have invested significantly to upgrade our workplaces, including self-serve kiosks operated by Aramark to provide 24/7 convenience for our employees,” while acknowledging, “We are aware there have been some issues raised regarding the kiosk functionality in some limited cases, and we are working with Aramark to review these situations.”
Aramark issued its own statement to the Daily Mail, saying it takes the reports seriously.
“We remain focused on operating with integrity and accountability,” a company spokesperson said, adding that the firm is working alongside Ford to examine each disputed case.
The scandal traces back to Kurt Kromm, an electrician who spent 11 years maintaining robotic and automated systems at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville.
Kromm was accused in May of failing to pay for a $1.95 pack of Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Cookies, purchased during an overnight shift after his blood sugar plummeted to 60. As a diabetic, he said the snack was urgently needed.
Two supervisors pulled Kromm aside and showed him footage of the transaction. He insisted he had paid and later tracked down a matching $1.95 charge on his own bank statement as proof.
Ford took ten days to reply after receiving that evidence, eventually asking Kromm to supply a notarized bank statement.
Weeks after he complied, the company reversed course, offering reinstatement along with roughly $33,000 in back pay.
Kromm turned the offer down. He said Ford never acknowledged wrongdoing or gave him a fair opportunity to clear his name before firing him.
“There was no apology. There was no serious, ‘We’re sorry,'” Kromm told the New York Post. “There was just, ‘Oh, you’re not coming back?’ No, I am not interested in coming back.”
