Liberal have continued to demand higher wages for menial task jobs, well, they're getting it, but they're getting more than they bargained for at the same time as businesses have to improvise and innovate in order to remain a profitable business.
Restaurants around the country are experimenting with automation technologies to streamline operations and reduce labor costs. According to an expert from consulting firm Technomic, these efforts are unlikely to lead to a fully automated industry anytime soon, given the current labor-intensive nature of the restaurant business. However, automation has had a more significant impact on sales in the form of self-serve machines like Coca-Cola Freestyle.
McDonald's recently unveiled a test restaurant near Fort Worth, Texas which featured automation technology instead of employees in certain positions. The franchisee operating this restaurant noted that this technology speeds up order processing and promotes customer satisfaction. McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski had previously dismissed the idea of total automation in restaurants due to the impractical economics behind it.
Yet other restaurants have begun leveraging AI for ordering and robotic technology for adding toppings or sauces to food items. This push towards automation also comes as states such as California have increased their minimum wages. California's Department of Industrial Relations has raised the state minimum wage from $10 per hour in 2017 up to $15 per hour by 2023, while Governor Gavin Newsom has further proposed an increase up to $22 per hour through the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act just three months ago.
While some argue that such drastic increases will lift many workers out of poverty, a study conducted by the Congressional Budget Office found that a nationwide minimum wage hike to $15 would result in 1.4 million job losses despite lifting 900,000 people out of poverty. This shows how difficult it can be for restaurant owners attempting to balance labor costs with rising wages and how automation may become increasingly attractive as a cost-saving measure going forward.
Look, we warned everyone that this would happen, but they don't believe us conservatives because we're not edumacated.