It's a Good Thing Trump Cooked His Fries in '24: The Job May Be Gone in 2025
The attack on fast-food worker’s livelihoods continues apace in California.
The first attack was the legislature keeps raising the minimum wage for fast-food workers.
Employers have responded by closing outlets and cutting back on employee’s hours.
Now if Donald Trump wins the election, and begins his promised mass deportations, the kitchens in Californian fast-food restaurants may be as vacant as a Kamala Harris victory party.
This may cause real problems.
One job Americans really don’t want to do is frying their own hamburgers and cooking their own fries.
Fortunately, the robot community may be ready to come to our rescue in the absence of illegal immigrants.
The Los Angeles Times Times just ran a story about robot fry cooks and the possibility of relief on that front is very real.
Pasadena’s Miso Robotics is one firm grateful for the big jump in the minimum wage:
"Miso Robotics executives believe their frying robot could be a huge boon for the company, saying in a government filing that ‘automation of the fry station represents a potentially massive $3.5 billion revenue opportunity.'"
Miso’s fry robot is called Flippy and it "can fry French fries and chicken nuggets much faster than humans. …
"Flippy can process more than 100 fry baskets an hour, notably faster than the 70 or so baskets the company estimates employees can handle during the same time period. The robot also spares workers from the risk of burns from hot oil or slips on grease."
Even better, Flippy never has translation confusion, daycare emergencies, car trouble, parent–teacher meetings and it will work a 24-hour sift without complaint. Plus, Flippy will never ask for an advance on a paycheck.
A little over a year ago we wrote here (citing Forbes): "Nala Robotics has launched a fast food robot that it says can fry chicken wings, French fries, and other foods, season them, and plate them all autonomously. It’s called the 'Wingman,' and it’s available to rent for $2,999/month."
Even worse for humans, the Wingman was cheaper than the carbon–based alternative before California raised the minimum wage to $20 per hour.
"And right now the Wingman is cheaper than the cost of human employees.
"At $15 per hour — just a dollar less than the current California minimum — the Wingman costs 63% less than having a human do the work.
"At the new minimum rate of $20 per hour, the savings approaches 70% over the human, assuming 18 hours of operation per day over an average 30-day month. Naturally, restaurants that are open 24/7 will see even more savings."
One year ago, Flippy was in 100 White Castle locations and Flippy isn’t alone. Sweetgreen and Chipotle are currently experimenting with robots in the kitchen with varying results.
The Sweetgreen experiment for public policy reasons was particularly noteworthy.
As the Los Angeles Times reports:
"Los Angeles-based fast-casual restaurant Sweetgreen has been testing what the company calls its 'Infinite Kitchen' that uses machines to dispense and mix salad ingredients that humans then put the finishing touches on.
"Two locations that piloted the technology, including one in Huntington Beach, saw improvements in order accuracy and staff turnover, while average sales were 10% higher, executives said during a recent earnings call."
We’re thinking if automation can mix the ingredients for a salad, there’s no reason automation can’t pick the ingredients for a salad.
Ignorant left-wing politicians in the Golden State meddling in the market during a spasm of moral exhibitionism have only limited opportunities for fast-food workers and expanded opportunities for robot manufacturers.
It was a stroke of good fortune for the Trump campaign that he was able to become a McDonalds fry cook this year before robots pushed all the humans out of that part of the kitchen.
(A related article may be found here.)
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.