BLOOMSBURG, UNITED STATES - 2022/02/10: A view of an Applebee's restaurant sign and logo. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Applebee’s has confirmed that an employee of a Missouri-based franchisee has been fired after sending an email speculating that high gas prices and the end of pandemic stimulus money would force employees to work longer hours for lower pay.
"This is the opinion of an individual, not Applebee’s," Kevin Carrol, Applebee’s chief operations officer, said in a statement, adding that the franchisee terminated the mid-level worker. The employee didn’t work directly for Applebee’s.
Issues arose after someone shared the email last month with Jake Holcomb, the now-former manager of an Applebee’s restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas. He was outraged as he read the email, which said: "As inflation continues to climb and gas prices continue to go up that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living."
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Holcomb said he printed a couple dozen copies and left them where servers could find them, the Springfield News-Leader reports.
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"Then, I gave everyone in the restaurant their food for free and we just left; we didn’t even close the store," he said, adding that he also shared the email with a friend who posted a screenshot to Reddit on March 21.
The restaurant remained closed the next day and the email began circulating widely online.