Supporters of a $15 minimum wage are about to get a heaping helping of reality.
Self-service kiosks will be made available to the more than 6,000 Wendy’s franchises in the United States, the company announced on Thursday. Individual restaurant managers will decide whether to install them as an alternative to having human beings take customers’ orders.
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BEEP BOOP CAN I TAKE YOUR ORDER: Automated ordering machines, like these at a McDonald’s in Spain, are coming to the United States as a response to higher minimum wages.
According to Investors Business Daily, which reported the news, Wendy’s executives said the decision was driven by a tight labor market and higher minimum wages in many states.
After all, a computer kiosk doesn’t need to be paid $15 an hour to take orders.
Wendy’s President Todd Penegor told IBD that franchise locations have been raising prices to offset wage hikes and said the company is wary about both wage hikes and a possible recovery in commodity prices and is “working so hard to find efficiencies.”