Fast Casual: Kiosks Killing Jobs? Current Events Beg the Question, but the Facts Say Otherwise

2016 has been a year of changes and uncertainty, from the presidential election to minimum wage to the effects of the cabinet picked by the president-elect. In the wake of such uncertainty, it’s easy to fear the worst. Fast Casual, however, is urging you to not fear the rumor that kiosks will replace jobs at restaurants.

In response to McDonald’s announcing its plans to implement kiosks at all of their U.S. locations, The Gateway Pundit published a story entitled “Congrats Minimum Wage Protesters! McDonald’s Unveils Job-Replacing Self-Service Kiosks Nationwide.” To which McDonald’s replied, not the case. In fact, many believe that kiosks will simply make employees more efficient, reallocating them to back of house roles. In some cases, the increased efficiency and pace may even lead to more jobs, according to Fast Casual.

For example, Saladworks is revamping its stores, adding self-service kiosks which optimizes customizability for guests. CEO and president Patrick Sugrue does not expect this to decline employee’s hours.

"We didn't do this for labor purposes; we did it for throughput and also capacity," Sugrue told Fast Casual. "We're going to have more people making salads. From an hours perspective, hours should go up, not go down."