A diabetic Ford worker in the US said he was fired after being falsely accused of failing to pay for a cookie at a snack kiosk.

Kurt Kromm, 60, worked at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, Kentucky for 11 years, Shifting Gears reported.

Kromm told the publication that he noticed his blood sugar had dropped at around 3:30am during a 12-hour shift on 9 May and so decided to buy a Grandma’s chocolate chip cookie, which cost $1.95 (£1.47).

The following week he was called into an office by two supervisors, accused of stealing the item, and escorted from the premises without being allowed to get his belongings, he said.

Kromm, who says he averaged 60 hours a week at the automaker in 2025, said the payment screen initially rejected the transaction but the payment appeared to go through on the second try.

He later sent Ford screenshots from his bank confirming he had made the payment. The company then invited him back to his role but he declined.

“I earned over $200,000 last year. Why would I steal? I spent $1,200 last year in the canteen mainly on Diet Cokes,” Kromm told Shifting Gears.

The Kentucky Truck Plant, which manufactures the Super Duty, Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator models, is one of the company’s most profitable sites. In 2023 it earned $25bn in revenue.

Ford spokeswoman Jessica Enoch told Shifting Gears: “We don’t talk about individual cases, but there are times when we look into things and realise it could have been handled differently. When that happens, we try to rectify it.”

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