First Robot-Powered Burger Joint Stops The Minimum Wage Argument In Its Tracks
First, there were automated order kiosks, now there’s talk about a robot-powered burger making machine.
With organized labor’s push for a $15 minimum wage, unions are pushing minimum wage labor out of the budget range of restaurants and many of the industry’s unskilled jobs may soon be hard to find.
In what could be a prototype of future fast food restaurants, a burger joint in San Francisco appears to be in the works that will feature a machine that can produce 400 made-to-order hamburgers an hour — the process is fully autonomous, meaning it can slice toppings, grill a patty, and assemble and bag the burger without any help from humans.
According to Tech Insider,
Momentum Machines is looking for a self-motivated, conscientious applicant to take on the role of “restaurant generalist” at the restaurant.
It describes the ideal candidate as “autonomous,” which seems about right since future robotic coworkers will also be quite autonomous.
But just because robots make the food doesn’t mean there isn’t human-worthy work to be done.
“[You will] learn to do everything that’s part of running a restaurant in San Francisco,” the ad explains. That includes taking customers’ orders, scheduling shifts, and occasionally taking out the trash and tidying up.
The role will also challenge the applicant to “pick up some new skills that aren’t part of typical restaurant work,” such as software troubleshooting, market research, and product development.
The word “robot” is not mentioned in the job posting.
This is what happens when people demand more money than what they are worth.
