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by st1ck 1842 days ago
McDonald's probably can be automated enough to do without any burger flippers.
2 comments

It wouldn't surprise me if the programming, repairing, and regular maintenance of automated burger flippers cost more than a fleet of humans (that are versatile enough to also be able to take orders and clean tables.)

It's a very common mistake to reach for automation because it makes things locally more efficient but forget all the things it makes less flexible and thus less efficient.

And don't forget that governments will subsidize your low wage employees with things like food stamps and WIC but they won't subsidize the capital cost and ongoing maintenance of your robots.
They can - but robots are expensive, and so probably they can't afford it yet.