Oak Brook, IL — After seeing a decline in earnings for the first time in nine years and battling workers who are demanding $15/hr, McDonald’s plans to do something no other restaurant of its kind has ever done before; open thousands of stores run entirely by robots.
McDonald’s To Open 25,000 Robot-Run Restaurants By 2016
The 25,000 stores are set to be completed throughout the United States by the end of 2015. Each restaurant will still employ a small team of 1-3 humans to insure all of the robots are working correctly, the food and cleaning supplies remain stocked along with removing the money collected by the robots. Visitors to the restaurants will see these new robots working in harmony at a speed of 50 times faster than the average human employee, with no chance of error. If the launch for the stores is a success, people can soon expect to see robots located in every McDonald’s all over the country and at restaurants around the world.
Paul Horner, a spokesman for McDonald’s told CNN that because of the demand for a $15/hr minimum wage, the company has been playing with the idea of a restaurant run entirely by robots for years and believes their “McRobots” are the answer.
“These things are great! They get their work done in a fast and orderly manner, plus they don’t ask for cigarette breaks,” Horner laughed.
“With the increasing demand for a minimum wage of $15/hr and the protests getting worse every day, this is something we have to implement. Plus with the tremendous margin of human error, poor hygiene, lack of education, laziness, as well as the recent advancements in artificial intelligence it just make sense to automate our restaurants now rather than later.”
With this decision, shareholders can finally expect to see their stocks on the rise once again since employee salaries are not only cut, but eliminated. By cutting employees, McDonald’s says it is projecting to make a full financial turnaround and see their stock (MCD) return to $105/share which was originally set back in 2014. In the U.S., first quarter comparable sales decreased 2.6% as product and promotional offers did not meet expectations. U.S. operating income for the quarter declined 11%, reflecting weak sales and the impact of restructuring and restaurant closing charges.
Horner said he is excited to pave the way to a more automated workforce, hence a more reliable and affordable one.
“Robots are the future of McDonald’s in the United States and around the world,” Horner said, “Human workers want more pay and this has created giant protests which need our attention now before it is too late. Robots will decrease prices, increase productivity and make for better food. Hopefully our first new restaurant run entirely by robots, that opens in Phoenix in just days, will be embraced by customers and also put an end to the negative feedback we have received from some of critics out there.”
It is still unclear at this time what the robots look like or how customers will complete transactions as this information is being kept under strict confidentiality, but soon these questions will all be answered. Will it be the right or wrong decision for McDonald’s? In the end, it will come down to what is best for shareholders and the customer. The employees hoping to make a minimum wage of $15/hr, not so much.
If you have any further questions about the robot-run establishments, McDonanld’s has setup a 24-hour robot hotline at (480) 828-0470.
