Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Dear Striking Fast-Food Workers: Meet The Machine That Just Put You Out Of A Job
Zero Hedge ^ | 11/10/2015 | Tyler Durden

Posted on 11/10/2015 9:05:33 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Today, U.S. fast-food workers will strike across 270 cities in a protest for higher wages and union rights that they hope will catch the attention of candidates in 2016 elections, organizers said.

The walkouts will be followed by protests in 500 cities by low-wage workers in such sectors as fast food and home and child care, a statement by organizers of the Fight for $15 campaign said on Monday.

The protests and strikes are aimed at gaining candidates’ support heading into the 2016 election for a minimum wage of $15 an hour and union rights, it said.

The strikes and protests will include workers from McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King , KFC and other restaurants, the statement said.

And while we sympathize with their demands for higher wages, here is the simple reason why they will be very much futile.

Dear fast food workers of the US - presenting you nemesis: the Momentum Machines burger maker.

According to a recent BofA reported on how robotics will reshape the world, San Francisco start up Momentum Machines are out to fully automate the production of burgers with the aim of replacing a human fast food worker. The machine can shape burgers from ground meat, grill them to order with the specified amount of char, toast buns, add tomatoes, onions, pickles, and finally place it on a conveyor belt.

The robot is shown below. It occupies 24 square feet, and is much smaller and efficient than most assembly-line fast-food operations. It provides "gourmet cooking methods never before used in a fast food restaurant" and will deposit the completed burger into a bag. It does all of this without a trace of attitude.


According to public data, the company's robot can "slice toppings like tomatoes and pickles immediately before it places the slice onto your burger, giving you the freshest burger possible." Unlike human workers, the robot is "more consistent, more sanitary, and can produce ~360 hamburgers per hour" or a burger every 10 seconds.

Furthermore, future generations of the device "will offer custom meat grinds for every single customer. Want a patty with 1/3 pork and 2/3 bison ground to order? No problem."

As the company's website adds, "our various technologies can produce an ever-growing list of common choices like salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, and many other multi-ingredient foods with a gourmet focus."

But most importantly, it has no wage demands: once one is purchashed it will work with 100% efficiency for years. And it never goes on strike.

As the company's co-founder Alexandros Vardakostas told Xconomy his "device isn’t meant to make employees more efficient. It’s meant to completely obviate them."

The company's philosophy on making millions of fast food workers obsolete:

The issue of machines and job displacement has been around for centuries and economists generally accept that technology like ours actually causes an increase in employment.

The three factors that contribute to this are

  1. the company that makes the robots must hire new employees,
  2. the restaurant that uses our robots can expand their frontiers of production which requires hiring more people, and
  3. the general public saves money on the reduced cost of our burgers. This saved money can then be spent on the rest of the economy.

This is a major problem for the US economy, which once built on a manufacturing backbone, has seen the fastest jobs growth in recent years for workers employed by "food service and drinking places" i.e., fast food workers, waiters and bartenders.

 

Finally, for those complaining that there will be no "human touch" left to take the orders, robots have that covered too:

 

And now it's time to calculate how many tens if not hundreds of billions in additional welfare spending these soon to be unemployed millions in low-skilled workers will cost US taxpayers.



TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Society
KEYWORDS: fastfood; jobs; machine; robots
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-59 last
To: Leaning Right
The author overlooks one thing. Liberal states like California will simply make Momentum Machines illegal.

They could. But like with the minimum wage thing, they will just create a large "food desert" as fast food chains may decide to leave rather then maintain loss leader locations.

41 posted on 11/10/2015 10:30:19 AM PST by 5thGenTexan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: factoryrat
"And don’t forget that you get to socialize and subsidize the costs"

That's not Adam Smith style Capitalism.

That's Crony Capitalism/Fascism.

That's the Uniparty. It's been in full swing and accelerating for 70 years.

42 posted on 11/10/2015 10:35:40 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18 - Be The Leaderless Resistance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Wanted: High-Tech Machine Operators and Mechanics


43 posted on 11/10/2015 10:54:14 AM PST by familyop ("Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny!" --"Deacon," "Waterworld")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Mariner
Oh I'm well aware of the differences of capitalism vs. cronyim/fascism.

I just like to throw jabs at the CofC-china lobby-free trader-sell out your country for a quick buck-cheap slave labor express- contingent here on FR.

Unfortunately, the scenario that I Iaid out is the one that is most likely to come to pass in the not too distant future.

44 posted on 11/10/2015 11:00:16 AM PST by factoryrat (We are the producers, the creators. Grow it, mine it, build it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Imagine the machine operator, picking and scratching, and the not-so-clean machine with residue of rottenness inside.


45 posted on 11/10/2015 11:00:51 AM PST by familyop ("Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny!" --"Deacon," "Waterworld")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: 5thGenTexan
Ah, haute cuisine at the burger joint. Got it, thanks.

"You want fries with that?"

46 posted on 11/10/2015 11:05:44 AM PST by Moltke
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
the general public saves money on the reduced cost of our burgers.

yeah, right. I'm sure. /sarc

47 posted on 11/10/2015 11:07:05 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: factoryrat
"I just like to throw jabs at the CofC-china lobby-free trader-sell out your country for a quick buck-cheap slave labor express- contingent here on FR."

Those few that remain don't pipe in too often.

48 posted on 11/10/2015 11:07:53 AM PST by Mariner (War Criminal #18 - Be The Leaderless Resistance)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf

And NJ. As to the safety of such an arangement, I once watched a Citgo employee take her break, smoking a cigarette, leaning
against a gas pump.


49 posted on 11/10/2015 11:28:03 AM PST by gundog (Help us, Nairobi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: gundog

I saw the same thing happen one night here in NC. I called the station the next day and let the manager know exactly why it would be a really good idea to fire the idiot.


50 posted on 11/10/2015 11:57:17 AM PST by rhoda_penmark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: gundog

It helped that he had his name on his shirt. :-)


51 posted on 11/10/2015 11:59:29 AM PST by rhoda_penmark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: DannyTN

Not when I was in the Marine Corps slick.
81 dollars a month (E-2) stateside, $121 a month at Khe Sahn.
Just as a matter of interest; those were 24 hour days and 7 days a week.


52 posted on 11/10/2015 12:04:13 PM PST by 5th MEB (Progressives in the open; --- FIRE FOR EFFECT!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: rhoda_penmark

It was a she...with a “BORN to LOSE” tattoo showing snake-eyes on her forearm. Seriously.


53 posted on 11/10/2015 12:06:16 PM PST by gundog (Help us, Nairobi-Wan Kenobi...you're our only hope.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: gundog

No, mine was a guy.


54 posted on 11/10/2015 12:07:58 PM PST by rhoda_penmark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

S&P cuts McDonald’s credit rating by one notch
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/10/mcdonalds-ceo-not-pursuing-a-reit-after-robust-discussion.html


55 posted on 11/10/2015 12:16:27 PM PST by familyop ("Dry land is not just our destination, it is our destiny!" --"Deacon," "Waterworld")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: moovova
Gonna be a LOT more collich grajiates living in Mom & Dad’s basement...for a LOT longer.

There's a photo of this iconic guy that reads
"I don't often talk with liberals
But when I do, I say 'Large fries, please' ".

Anybody got a copy?


56 posted on 11/10/2015 12:17:04 PM PST by Oatka (ES)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Moltke

Damn sissy food!


57 posted on 11/10/2015 12:26:59 PM PST by JimRed (Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed & water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS NOW & FOREVER!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
But most importantly, it has no wage demands: once one is purchashed it will work with 100% efficiency for years.

Best bet for workers is to train for repairing/maintaining the robots. Ever seen how often one of those multifunction printers that can print/collate/staple/etc breaks down? I suspect these systems will be about as complex, and need some TLC to keep them operating. What does a fast food restaurant do when the machine is offline? Seems to me you're screwed until it is fixed.

Of course, the real question, are any of the minimum wage folk to be replaced capable of learning how to maintain these systems? Ah, there's the rub...

58 posted on 11/10/2015 12:30:29 PM PST by zeugma (Teach your child a love for motorcycles, and he'll never have money for drugs.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Moltke

Just the non-burger items.


59 posted on 11/10/2015 12:35:40 PM PST by 5thGenTexan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-59 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson