In July 2023, Subway embarked on a program of installing slicers in each franchise store to ensure that meat appeared fresh.  The program also shifted the cost of slicing from suppliers to individual stores.

The accompanying publicity campaign promoting freshly sliced meat had little impact on sales but increased cost to operators of stores.  Although slicers were provided at no cost to franchisees, the program involved additional labor and created a higher risk of injury when slicers were operated by relatively untrained staff, many of whom were legally restrained from using dangerous equipment.  The program involved expenditure of $80 million on slicers by Subway.

Subway has a history of offending and disaffecting franchisees. It appears that the freshly sliced initiative, that appeared to be a good idea and attractive from a promotional perspective was introduced without consideration of the practical issues involved.

Since acquisition of the company, Subway has pursued an active promotional program on cable television and social media emphasizing price and new menus but strangely without including the in-store freshness aspect.