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Forums - General - Former McDonald's USA CEO: $35K Robots Cheaper Than Hiring at $15 Per Hour

vivster on 25 May 2016
Ganoncrotch said:
11 pages of discussion on this and the robot replacement of humans... yet no one seems to have picked up the obvious PR hole in the EX CEOs statement.

-- it’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries

That is the same saying that there is no value in a PS4 console... which is broken, or that one human can run up stairs 1000x the speed of another... who is in a wheelchair.
He is comparing a 35k robotic arm to a worker who isn't doing his job, by the same logic you could say that same worker does a much better job than said robotic arm... when it's plugged out.
But everyone seemed to jump on the.... Robots replacing all jobs wagon instead, I guess it's more fun to talk about sci-fi?

Sorry, but 100% of human workers are inefficient, no matter their occupation. Inefficient does not mean incompetent or lazy. It just means that humans are not robots and as such do things that reduce efficiency like washing hands, taking breaks, look at the floor for half a nano second. That doesn't even include the mistakes and delay tactic every human worker does. A human will never do a simple repetitive task as efficient and fast as a robot. That's why we invented robots.



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Teeqoz on 25 May 2016

Then make robots do it then dammit. Besides, I'm sure this is or soon will be true at 10 or 7 dollars anyway, this is just postponing the inevitable.

Robots replacing humans in jobs like making fast food at McDonalds, being cashiers at stores, etc. are bound to happen, and it will be good for the economy in the long run, why hold back innovation? People wanting to stop this are like those types of people that went around destroying machines and such during the industrial revolution. Those people did that for the same reasons, "it will steal our jobs!", yet, lo-and behold, the industrial revolution created a shittonne of jobs, and increased living standards in the west dramatically. The economy adapts when the tech adapts. Believe me, it'snot in the big corporations' interests that people don't have jobs, because then people don't have money, and then people don't consume things, so people won't buy their products and everyone are fucked. That's not what they want.



WolfpackN64 on 25 May 2016
Nuvendil said:

Those specific numbers?  No.  But he is far, far more valuable in what he does.  Running a company that big?  99% of their employees couldn't do that.  Shoot, the vast majority of people in general can't.  Trust me, I've seen average people try to run small businesses and run them right into the ground.  Rarity of the skill required is a major factor in pay.  Anyone can do a standard crew member job.  Few can do a CEO or President's job.  And as I said in my post on the previous page (the really long one :P), all that money he makes is a tiny drop compared to the astronomical rise in payroll costs to pay everyone 15+. 

And no, technically inflation doesn't directly follow from increased wages.  But the practical effects thereof on the average man would occur:  cost of retail goods would go up as would general cost of living.  A $15 minimum wage would constitute an enormous rise in payroll costs for many companies, they must recoup that somewhere and it won't be from the executive salaries like many like to think.  The executives just don't make enough in most cases.

It's not because someone can run a company that that person deserves to get a much larger salary since he is still dependant on the people who actually perform the basic tasks at McDo. The CEO's wage is one thing. But the company has a very large managment and board of directors, all make considerably much more then the basic franchise workers. Not to mention the money that goes to shareholders, which all makes the wage hike look like a small drop in comparison.

And again, wage hikes do not raise prises. Only inflation does, and as long as your total monatary amount stays the same, nothing will change. If anything, the larger possability for consumption is beneficial to the general economy.



fatslob-:O on 25 May 2016
Pemalite said:

The USA's Income inequality is one of the highest amongst the developed world.
See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States#International_comparisons

Ranked 41 out of 141. Ouch!

In the end, if you are happy with the status quo, who am I to argue? I don't live there, but I do have a higher standard of living than the majority of Americans.

Income equality =/= Poverty ... 

Who said anything about being happy with the status quo ? It would be great if everyone were rich in fantasy land of course ... 

There is still many chances to be had to get wealthy in the US compared to the over half the countries which have lower income equality ... 

Pemalite said:

 

You would not save much money.

A rise in the minimum wage will likely mean a rise for all other employment that trends higher than minimum wage, that offsets the small extra costs in your burgers, it also ensures people can have a higher standard of living, something the USA is falling behind on... And took a fairly chunky hit during the GFC.

Remember I live in a country where the minimum wage is higher than $15 (Almost $17), I am living on the other side of the divide.

It would save a lot more than you think. Robots practically work 24 hours with minimal downtime to boot. It would probably take less than 10 months to make the money back ... 

Just like how some PC gamers keep proclaiming savings in the long run I'll do the same for automation ... 

Better productivity = better performance 

A heavily pro-PC gamer isn't all that different from an automation evangelist since they both believe in something that's ultimately superior ...



Teeqoz on 25 May 2016
Darwinianevolution said:
AbbathTheGrim said:
I wonder if countries will eventually pass legislation to control companies from replacing people with robots.

They'll have to. Otherwise there might be some sort of luddite movement against those kind of machines.

Lol. How much did the luddite movement accomplish during the industrial revolution? Exactly.



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Puppyroach on 25 May 2016

Isn't it cheaper to have a 35000$ robot than even paying 5$/hour in wage? It's a stupid argument since machines can always be more cost efficient than humans. McDonalds is about service to customers and being a good employer. Therefore 15$/hour minimum wage would be a given for any company that care about those two issues.



S.T.A.G.E. on 25 May 2016

This right here is exactly why a replacement economy will need to be thought of in the fallout of capitalism. Capitalism is good but when used correctly does not benefit the people outside of choices based on competition. Jobs will dwindle and eventually a small elite will be formed with all of the country's fortune in hand. In shorter terms, capitalist corporations will replace the majority of the jobs with robotics thus keeping profits for themselves.



pbroy on 25 May 2016

Would a minimum wage increase drive up the cost for hookers?

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wambam24 on 25 May 2016

I'm all for the robots. Maybe then the burger I order can look like the one from the menu and look like it was stepped on. The money saved from robots can also lead to additional money's to go to charity. And the existing employees can go on to a better careere Quicker service, better looking food, it's a win .



WolfpackN64 on 25 May 2016
wambam24 said:
I'm all for the robots. Maybe then the burger I order can look like the one from the menu and look like it was stepped on. The money saved from robots can also lead to additional money's to go to charity. And the existing employees can go on to a better careere Quicker service, better looking food, it's a win .

Do you really think it will ever look like the picture? The food on these pictures is prepared by professional cooks with quality ingrediants. A robot can't make a quality burger out what McDo gives them to work with. If anything, robot motorics haven't yet evolved to even provide the speed of a human burger-flipper.