The $600 Million Fire And The Hidden Risk Of Employee Disgruntlement
This post originally appeared on Forbes on April 17, 2026.
Authorities have charged an employee with arson after he allegedly set fire to a Kimberly-Clark warehouse, causing over $600 million in overall damages. Investigators allege he filmed himself setting the blaze, expressing anger over wages and corporate practices. Via a video uploaded to Facebook, he said, “If you’re not going to pay us enough to [expletive] live or afford to live, at least pay us enough not to do this [expletive].”
This statement reflects a level of frustration leaders should not ignore. Gallup reports that global employee engagement has dropped to 20%—a figure that represents a workforce largely disconnected from their work. But disengaged employees don’t burn buildings to the ground; they largely do nothing.
It’s when disengagement turns into a more insidious emotion, such as active disgruntlement, that some employees can move to take destructive action. However, employee emotion in general may be a bit of a blind spot for CEOs. According to the Boston Consulting Group CEO Insomnia Index, only 37% of CEOs say they are concerned about rising levels of employee disgruntlement.
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