Automation and artificial intelligence (AI) have been making significant inroads in the fast food and casual dining restaurant industry. The need to fill job vacancies has been a primary motivation for these investments, rather than a desire to save money.
According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were approximately 1.2 million job openings in the combined restaurants and accommodations sector as of late May. This number represents around 10% of the total workforce in the industry. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, job openings in the industry had only exceeded one million once in a twenty-year period.
While some argue that automation is aimed at reducing the workforce in fast food restaurants, others believe that the implementation of machines is irreversible due to the cost savings they offer. Casey Warman, an economics professor at Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University, expressed this sentiment in late 2022.
Several notable restaurants and chains are at the forefront of the automation trend. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) has introduced a robot named “Autocado” that cuts, cores, and peels avocados. Chipotle emphasizes that Autocado is a “collaborative robot” designed to enhance productivity rather than eliminate jobs. The company is also testing an AI-driven kitchen assistant called “Chippy” to make tortilla chips and has explored the possibility of dishwashing robots.
In Richmond, Virginia, two restaurants utilize BellaBot robot waiters, developed by Chinese company PuduTech, to deliver up to six plates of food to a table simultaneously.
In Woodland Park, New Jersey, a pizza shop has streamlined its pie-making process through automation. Most stages of pizza preparation, from pressing the dough to adding toppings, are now carried out by machines. The shop has a small number of employees, primarily delivery drivers.
White Castle is piloting a fryer-operating robot, and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) has opened a test restaurant outside Fort Worth, Texas, where drive-through customers receive their orders from a conveyor belt instead of a human worker.
The increasing presence of automation and AI in the fast food industry is transforming the way restaurants operate. While the primary justification may be filling job vacancies, these advancements are sure to shape the future of the industry as technology continues to evolve.
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