Former McDonald's CEO Warns Wage Hikes Could Fuel a Robot Takeover

Robot wait staff could be coming

In the midst of a national wage debate, the former CEO of McDonald's raised some serious questions over whether this could be a sign of an impending robot invasion and consequent domination, according to ArsTechnica. Ed Rensi appeared on Mornings with Maria for Fox Business, expressing his concerns over an increase in the minimum wage and the introduction of robotic ordering systems into the restaurant industry.

The fast-food automation trend is already happening with places like Starbucks, Burger King, and Taco Bell implementing new mobile ordering methods and cutting off the employee-driven transactions. Rensi said if a $15 minimum wage were instituted across the board, it would fuel tremendous job loss and an even greater push for new technology.

"It's cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who's inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries," he said on the show.

The Carl's Jr. CEO Andy Puzder apparently shares similar automated sentiments, recently sharing his desire to open a restaurant concept that would be completely free of human employees. Robots are also on the rise in restaurants in China and Japan, though the quality of their performance has been called into question in a number of cases.

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