Quote Originally Posted by nain rouge View Post
I agree that fast food will continue to "mechanize". At McDonald's, the hamburgers are basically cooked by a machine. A human "feeds" the grill patties, adds seasoning, and then presses a button. It gets grilled on both sides by the machine, no need to flip.

The fries involve a level of automation, too, but it's been a long time since I worked at McD's. I forget exactly how the whole system worked, but I distinctly remember fries moving on a conveyor of sorts.

And I agree that touch screens will replace some cashier jobs. But you'll still need a worker to answer questions and assist confused customers. It's not going to be a 100% machine operation.

So for now, I'm calling the fast food industry's bluff. You don't need people? Fine, let's see you bring on the machines, then.
In 1840 fully 70% of American workers worked in agriculture. Today just 2% work in agriculture. What happened to food production in that time? Instead of feeding 17 million Americans in 1840, we feed 315 million Americans today and millions more around the world with our agricultural exports.

Look at manufacturing employment. It's been on a steady decline for decades, yet our output keeps going up.

Technology will allow us to continue to use machines to make processes more efficient, productive and make their output more affordable. There's no reason why this won't happen in your local fast food restaurant if labor costs increase too much. I wouldn't be surprised to see employment drop 50% - 70% if wages go up to $15/hr. There will be jobs created for people who can build, install and maintain the machines but they probably won't be filled by unskilled burger flippers and change makers.