Kiosks don’t buy stuff either.
No, but the kiosks need to be designed, built, sold, marketed, installed, maintained, repaired. All good jobs, which will likely not be filled by the untrained, unemployed people the kiosks are replacing. This would have happened anyway, but the minimum wage hikes are speeding it up in a way that makes the transition far more painful.
By increasing automation, McDonald’s is increasing the productivity of those employees it has—which will increase their earning power.
Are you a Luddite?