Quote (Surfpunk @ May 14 2021 07:45pm)
I'm skeptical about the mass deployment of automation in service. I think it will happen, but I don't think it's likely to take a staff of 12 down to a staff of 3. I think it's likely to take a staff of 12 down to a staff of 9 with more consistent results, and the reason I think that is because while the savings might be there, the cost of deploying it to even 1% of Mcdonalds is going to be astronomical, even for a globe spanning company.
Like, McDonalds operates in countries with super high minimum wages. If the technology is there it would have been deployed in those countries already.
Also there's the issue of incentive. Increases in the minimum wage are not associated with lower service industry profits. They're actually associated with marginally higher profitability due to increased demand. So why would they start cutting workers because of a higher wage? There's no punishment for paying it, and this has been acknowledged in leaked internal communications from restaurant chains for a long time.
This post was edited by Thor123422 on May 14 2021 06:57pm