Subway HQ receives suspicious powder after recent firings

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Subway Restaurants’ Milford, Conn., headquarters received a package with a powdery substance on Thursday that’s being investigated by the local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Post has learned. The police and Subway executives believe the package could have been sent by a recently laid-off Subway employee, Milford police officer Maralisa Anania told …

The police and Subway executives believe the package could have been sent by a recently laid-off Subway employee, Milford police officer Maralisa Anania told The Post.

“I know they have had a lot of layoffs lately, so that is in the back of our minds,” Anania said. Subway, which is also concerned about retaliation by a former worker, is not counting anything out, she added.

Police got the call from Subway at 12:40 p.m. and the hazardous material unit as well as the local fire department were on-site until after 3 p.m., Anania said. The offices were evacuated, but just 20 people were working there at the time due to coronavirus restrictions, sources said.

“A suspicious envelope was received at our mail center yesterday, prompting notification to the authorities per protocol,” a Subway spokesman confirmed. “The investigation by authorities determined there was no risk. The source of the package is currently under investigation.”

Subway, America’s biggest restaurant chain with almost 24,000 locations, has been slashing jobs amid sagging sales that have been plaguing the company since 2015 — the year its longtime spokesman Jared Fogle was arrested for kiddie porn.

The cuts have been led by its newbie CEO John Chidsey, brought in late last year to try to revive the troubled company. Chidsey slashed 150 jobs earlier this month after laying off 300 staffers in February — reducing its 1,200-person staff by 38 percent in total, sources said.

The layoffs have upset some of the company’s longtime employees — many of whom had ties to Subway’s co-founder Fred DeLuca, who died in 2015. Chidsey, a former Burger King exec, is the first permanent CEO in Subway’s 54-year history who was not part of DeLuca’s family.

In addition to job cuts, some staffers have recently had their hours cut to 30 a week, a Subway insider said. Staffers who want more hours must first use up their paid time off.

John Chidsey is seen in 2009Getty Images

There have also been reductions made to the company’s 401(k) match, the insider said. Subway declined to comment.

Chidsey has been making the rounds of cable news networks to tout the slimmed-down company’s ability to tackle the pandemic, which has crushed the restaurant industry. “I actually think we’re ideally suited for an environment like this,” he said, adding that is because Subway has smaller stores than peers like McDonald’s, which means its franchisees have lower rents and less labor than many rivals. Subway doesn’t own any of its restaurants.