20+ Workers who got fired on the spot: 'He suggested I should steal [snacks]'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 12, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Firing workers is supposed to be rare, and sometimes it's 100% warranted. There are some lines that should just never be crossed, and when an employee makes a running leap over that line, well, they'll be shown the door. 

Compliance is very important in spaces that can be hazardous. The rules are in place for a reason! If you're supposed to put on a harness before doing a seemingly harmless activity, you'd better strap in, pal. That rule is there because someone before you took a tumble and got hurt. So if you ignore the current rules, you're making the same dumb mistake twice, and you might get hurt in the meantime. A lot of companies (and the good folks at OSHA) take safety measures extremely seriously, and even a single violation of any rule like this can result in immediate termination, no matter how great the employee has been up to that point. 

Just ask one dude, who was instructed very clearly not to hit a certain button. It was a button that shut off the entire plants' machines, so naturally, that's the kind of thing you only use in a severe and urgent emergency. It's not always as simple as just turning the machines back on. Getting machines up and running again could take a day or 2, or might require expensive recalibration, and in the meantime, no products are being made! So for some reason this dude could not resist hitting the stop button, and hopefully he was unsurprised to be fired on the spot. Other people were fired for some pretty silly reasons, too, as you can read all about down below. 

Next up, take a gander at the pizza pie that one person proclaimed as the "worst pizza I've seen in my lifetime," as well as 19 other pizzas that'll make you want to order Chinese food instead. 

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  • 01
    Man in suit jacket and tie looking dismayed next to older man in suit and tie looking upset and pointing forward
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    This is incredible

    otcconan Brand new cake decorator at my HEB turned in a cake with the words "I JUST REMEMBERED I HATE DECORATING CAKES"
    via u/otcconan
  • 03

    Oh!

    Significant-Yak-2... Two co-workers were out one night and one of them hurt his hand and had to go hospital. He still came into work on time the next morning. The other one phoned in saying he was still stuck at the hospital with the friend so couldn't make it in.
    via u/Significant-Yak-2373
  • 04
    TMdownton916 In the back of the grocery store I worked at was something called a cardboard baler. You'd toss your broken down boxes into this machine and press a button, then it would smush all the cardboard down until it was full enough that you would bail it with wire and put it on a pallet jack and take it out back.
    via u/TMdownton916
  • 05
    Well, a couple knuckle heads figured out that the press only goes down to about 18" of the bottom; just low enough to frighten the bejesus out of a new hire. And so they took a new guy to the back to "show them how to work the baler", and tossed the guy, slammed the door, and hit start. The guy is screaming up a storm with
    via u/TMdownton916
  • 06
    fear that he's about to be squished to death when the safety feature kicked in and these two ding dongs go "JK LOL". Fired.
    via u/TMdownton916
  • 07
    Man in a work setting hands pile of papers to another person with 2 onlooking workers and a man writing with pen at a desk in office setting
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 08

    The fact that he ALMOST got away with something this dumb is stunning

    magseven Guy tried to call off saying his ride got into an accident during the winter rain-snow mix and put their truck into a ditch. He texts the boss an unprompted picture of the truck in the ditch. She shows me the pic saying, "look who called off again". I look at the picture and something looks weird to me. There were pine trees in
    via u/magseven
  • 09
    it. We don't have many of those around here. "I google "truck in ditch winter" and it's the very first picture that pops up. She isn't even that mad and we laugh about it. more than anything. She wasn't even going to plan on any write-ups or anything. I
    via u/magseven
  • 10
    later find out that when she showed him the picture on google after he kept bringing up the accident", he became irrationally angry and threatening so she shitcanned him.
    via u/magseven
  • 11
    udontknowme_w... I worked at a university. A guy got hired with the maintenance crew. Later that day, a woman's bike was stolen from the bike rack outside the maintenance office. The next day, it reappeared on the bike rack with a new lock. She called campus
    via u/udontknowme_whodis
  • 12
    police and as they were taking a report at the bike rack, the new maintenance guy came out to go home on his "new" bike he stole from her. He was fired.
    via u/udontknowme_whodis
  • 13
    CantFeelMyLegs78 A fellow journeyman fitter, making $130 an hour of total package pay, plus a work truck with gas card, decided to spend many hours on the job collecting bottles and cans around the jobsite so he could turn them in for .10 each. Got fired for wasting company time to collect $10 a day in recyclables.
    via u/CantFeelMyLegs78
  • 14
    ElChuloPicante Stole cash from the register that had a camera pointed at it. She could see the view of the camera on a monitor right by the register, so she knew she was in frame.
    via u/ElChuloPicante
  • 15

    These people weren't even trying to keep their jobs

    azianmommy Guy got caught stealing office snacks on camera after HR literally sent an email saying "we have cameras, don't steal the snacks" Coworker called in sick then posted Instagram stories from a pool party the same afternoon
    via u/azianmommy
  • 16
    Far_From_Robin She wasn't fired, but I used to work at a bulk/health store called Nutters, and a new girl left the same day she started. She informed us about halfway into her shift that she had a nut allergy and couldn't handle most of the product in the store. It's called Nutters. She elected to find a new job that day.
    via u/Far_From_Robin
  • 17
    Dingus_Majingus Forgot to drink water and passed out on the job, after being told/virtually forced to take water breaks where the dummy still didnt drink water or even go sit infront of the ice cold misting fan set up we had. Boss was gracious about it and all, took care of injury and drove them to dr and paid for it out of pocket but
    via u/Dingus_Majingus
  • 18
    was seriously concerned theyd do something similarly stupid and get seriously hurt the next time (construction). If this guy was on a scaffolding set up he could have did when he fell out. He let dude go, still gave him some cash at firing because boss wasnt heartless b Ird and knows he has to put food on the table.
    via u/Dingus_Majingus
  • 19
    ndab71 I used to work as a bartender for a big, well known hotel chain. One day, another bartender decides to steal a case of beer. To accomplish this, he took it to the loading dock (which, as you'd expect, had security cameras on it), placed it right in the middle of the well-lit loading area and covered it with a cloth.
    via u/ndab71
  • 20
    By the time he came back with his car, a security guard was there waiting for him, and said "if you're going to insult our intelligence this much, you deserve to be fired."
    via u/ndab71
  • 21
    Raider_Scum Worked in kitchen. A co- worker got caught attempting to steal a bag of napkins. He put a whole pile of them in a paper bag, then looked up at the security camera, then tried to subtly put the napkin bag under the counter. Someone found the bag. filled with napkins, so they checked the security
    via u/Raider_Scum
  • 22
    cameras. And the guys behavior was so sketchy, it was obvious he was trying to steal them. Managment decided that if he tried to steal these, he probably had already stolen other things, and they fired him - it was his first and only offense. Right after he got fired, co id started. Last I heard, he spent all of co id
    via u/Raider_Scum
  • 23
    unemployed, struggling to buy insulin for his girlfriend. I never imagined someone's life could be so wrecked by napkins. I felt bad about the whole situation, but I had nothing to do with it. He was probably stealing the napkins because he couldn't afford toilet paper.
    via u/Raider_Scum
  • 24

    Bad decision making

    scarockandroll Intern took a nap at work, but he chose to take that nap on one of the nice couches in the executive suite.
    via u/s**rockandroll
  • 25

    Some people never learn

    Black-RedShark When selling flooring, we had racks of runners/entrance mats that were cut to length. The guy put it over it leg to cut it with a stanley/utility knife. Obviously, he cut into his own leg, and then when he came back from that injury, he did it again.
    via u/Black-RedShark
  • 26

    Awkward!

    nayanextdoor Having an affair with the married boss. When both stopped getting along with each other it was just weird and the boss not only stopped the affair but also fired my colleague
    via u/nayanextdoor
  • 27
    Lille_8 A lunch teacher at my elementary school would hover over kids yelling at them to stop talking and eat their food. She got fired because a kid complained to the principal that we can't talk during class or lunch so when are we supposed to socialize??
    via u/Lille_8
  • 28

    Did bro just step out of a time machine from the 1930s or something?

    codemise Day one in orientation with about 20 other people. Cute gal in a professional skirt and blouse steps up on the stage and starts to introduce herself.
    via u/codemise
  • 29
    A guy from one table over whistled, basically cat calling the woman. The presentation stopped immediately, and the dude was escorted out. We all got a lesson on unwanted s ual advances instead.
    via u/codemise
  • 30
    One_Cell1547 Had a guy get fired for bringing a drone to work and flying it on his lunch break, at a secure facility. I mean how dumb can you be?
    via u/One_Cell1547
  • 31
    Additional-Sock8... I own my own company, came back from holidays and there were a few new hires I hadn't met. Came into the canteen to grab a tea wearing casual wear and a guy was loading up a large back pack with a few hundred euros of snacks. It was mid morning so the place was empty as people were working.
    via u/Additional-Sock8980
  • 32
    I casually asked what he was doing and he explained the snacks were free and there was no limit on how many you could take, he suggested I should steal some too handing me a box of 48 kitkat chunky bars. I declined, saying If I took them then there wouldn't be enough for everyone else.
    via u/Additional-Sock8980
  • 33
    I'd image, based on his face, he død a little inside at the company all hands meeting when he realised who I was. His manager fired him that afternoon and said he wouldn't be arrested if he emptied his bag and returned all the snacks stolen on previous days. Which in fairness he did.. 3 suitcases!! were needed to return his boxes of snacks. He was there 1 week.
    via u/Additional-Sock8980
  • 34
    Rasheverak While cashiering, they ran their employee rewards card or loyalty card for random customers so they would get the small discounts on store brands. Sounds altruistic, right? And I am sure her motives were altruistic. Well, the company didn't think so and considered it tantamount to stealing since
    via u/Rasheverak
  • 35
    my former coworker continued to rack up redeemable points with these transactions. Points that only the card holder can redeem. And this is why even the UFCW discourages this practice. They don't have an argument against the company and they can't save anyone who's terminated for doing it.
    via u/Rasheverak
  • 36
    Routine_Mine_30... The boss asked the new admin assistant (AA) to order some sandwiches from Jimmie Johns while he worked through a lunch meeting. This was one of the AA's job duties. The AA disappeared for 3 hours before coming back and threw the sandwiches on his desk an hour after the meeting had ended.
    via u/Routine_Mine_3019
  • 37
    The boss gently asked her what had happened and she started screaming and cursing at the boss that it was his fault because he had given her an impossible job and she couldn't find a Jimmie Johns in 2 hours of driving around. Jimmie Johns had delivered to our office many times before that. She got fired for screaming and cursing at the boss, and of course, not being too smart.
    via u/Routine_Mine_3019
  • 38
    I was the boss. She kept screaming the whole time she cleaned out her desk.
    via u/Routine_Mine_3019
  • 39
    jt... Somebody who worked for me. One of the top consulting companies did the usual graduate hire. One of mine was sent on a training course, then did not come back. We learnt he had asked his girlfriend to come stay with him at the hotel, decided nobody would miss him at the training, skipped the training, then they just
    via u/jthechef
  • 40
    stayed in the hotel room, thinking we would carry on paying for it. HR found out, Travel expenses, no show at training. I had the 'pleasure' of contacting him to tell him he was fired and we were withholding the hotel charges from his pay check. How completely stupid can you get, get a great job, just out of college and blow it up like that!
    via u/jthechef
  • 41
    Man with gray hair wearing navy suit jacket and blue striped tie looking upset and pointing forward
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 42
    Cassandra_Canm... Hired a guy to be a welder. Kept asking where the spools of copper were kept. By lunch he'd stolen a forklift and tried ramming. the storage bay the copper was kept in. Only manager key cards could open them.
    via u/Cassandra_Canmore2
  • 43
    2inTHEivies I worked at a bank and one of the tellers called out saying she would be out for the week because she had appendicitis. It was bank policy that after 3 days of being out sick the bank manager would audit the tellers drawer which was locked in the vault, when the manager counted the cash in her drawer it was several thousand dollars short. She
    via u/2inTHEivies
  • 44
    ultimately admitted to "borrowing" the money, she said that her boyfriend had some sort of monetary settlement coming in a few days and they wanted to take her kids on vacation with it so she "borrowed" the money, called in sick to work, and went to Florida. She claimed his check would come in while they were on vacation and she thought she could just come back to work after a week and return
    via u/2inTHEivies
  • 45
    the cash without anyone knowing what had happened. She should have had charges pressed against her for bank robbery but for some reason they took pity on her and simply fired her on the premise that she pay the money back in full, I truly
    via u/2inTHEivies
  • 46
    think management was simply covering their because a teller should never be a position where they can walk out of a bank after their shift with several thousand dollars in their purse.
    via u/2inTHEivies
  • 47

    Yikes

    MProsserMMA As a manager at GNC. I hired a girl who was a solid fit with the team. After 2-3 days, she no called / no showed. I found out later it was cuz her boyfriend "didn't like her working with guys"... Good luck!
    via u/MProsserMMA
  • 48
    AndNowAStoryAb... Oh, man. My fake brother. Like, unofficially adopted. I was working at this warehouse for high end shoes and they treated us all SO good. Literally threw a million dollar new year's party every year. They were making 12b a year and we got catered lunch daily and our insurance was 100%
    via u/AndNowAStoryAboutMe
  • 49
    coverage. Not exaggerating. I had NO MEDICAL BILLS while working there. This sh is unheard of, I know. I used to tell the front desk "I promise I don't owe you a co-pay" and they'd roll their eyes, charge me anyway, and HR would run a check to me for the $20 2 days later. They were so used to it. Because companies CAN afford to treat you well, but all of them seem to choose to do the least legally
    via u/AndNowAStoryAboutMe
  • 50
    required by law instead. Capitalism! Anyway, I got my friend/brother to apply. He interviewed well. Got the job. Went to orientation. On the safety tour, they tell everyone what the Emergency Stop does. And then say, "Do not hit this button if it isn't an emergency." And he immediately hits the button.
    via u/AndNowAStoryAboutMe
  • 51
    and shuts down the entire converyor belt for the building. They just look at him and walk him to the door. Never even got assigned a department. I am still flabbergasted by it to this day. He was like, "I don't know why, man. I just couldn't resist." Ahahah.
    via u/AndNowAStoryAboutMe
  • 52
    Narissis Called in sick to work, then posted photos on Facebook of her partying while she was supposedly out sick. Many of her coworkers were Facebook friends with her, including some of the managers.
    via u/Narissis
  • 53
    Proper_Juggerna... Slipped on a piece of carpet that was sticking out in the reception area. Put in a claim for an injury at the workplace. When we reviewed the cameras from a few days earlier they could be heard talking with another member of staff about how they were planning to fall and hurt themselves
    via u/Proper_Juggernaut561
  • 54

    Ridiculous

    D....F...BL... I work for an airline and we fly for free, new-ish hire decides he'd rather be on the beach so he calls in sick and he shows up to the airport and hops on a plane, one of the sups sees him and lets him fly and they halted his flight benefits after the plane left. Don't know exactly what happened after that but I never saw him again.
    via u/D***B***F***

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