Muffin Break has been hit with a furious backlash after its general manager complained that entitled millennials were not prepared to work for free to gain experience.

Natalie Brennan said for about the past decade the number of young people looking to do unpaid work had declined, and blamed social media for giving those currently seeking work an inflated sense of self importance.

"Before that people would be knocking on your door all the time, you couldn't keep up with how many people wanted to be working. In fact I'd run programs because there were so many coming in," she told News Corp.

"In essence they're working for free, but I can tell you every single person who has knocked on my door for an internship or work experience has ended up with a job. Every single person, because they back themselves."

She also said people expected pay rises far too early in their careers and felt like they had to be rewarded for completing routine tasks as part of their jobs.

"I think everybody thinks social media is going to get them ahead somewhere," she said.

"There's definitely that inflated view of their self-importance because they have X amount of Instagram followers or this many likes. That's dangerous."

It did not take long for people to hit back at the statements on social media, which she had blamed for the attitudes she said she had encountered.

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Ms Brennan said people who had not lived up to her standards would not be hired that she would "tell everybody" about them.

"Even giving people constructive criticism about how they can learn or improve, it's like someone is 'unfriending' them. It's like a personal attack," she said.

"This ability to learn and grow through working in an environment, people don't want to do it anymore."

Interns 'paid according to relevant awards'

Foodco, which sells Muffin Break franchises, said all interns working at the company were paid appropriately.

"Our policy is, and has always been, that all employees including interns, employed either directly or through our brands, are paid according to relevant awards," it said in a statement.

"We are proud that for almost 30 years we have provided jobs for thousands of young Australians and we will continue to do so."

Ms Brennan also responded with an apology, saying the media reports did not reflect her values "or those of Foodco".

"Every day for the last 25 years I've worked with young people who are motivated, passionate and hard-working. This is as true today as it was when I started my career," she said.

"I don't expect anyone to work unpaid ... The unpaid work I referred to was supervised programs run through schools, TAFEs or universities, which provide valuable gained experience to people before they enter the workforce full-time.

"I want to apologise for any misunderstanding or upset caused by my comments."