PrefBlog

Assiduous Readers will remember my interest in the minimum wage debate and my position that an increase in the minimum wage is desirable, not because of any bleating about fairness, but because this will help to increase productivity as lower-skill jobs are automated. This automation is well-illustrated by McDonalds self-ordering kiosks in Europe; the issue was further discussed on August 6, 2015. We now have another data point – the hamburger chain Wendy’s is bringing in more self-ordering kiosks to reduce labour costs:

Wendy’s (WEN) said that self-service ordering kiosks will be made available across its 6,000-plus restaurants in the second half of the year as minimum wage hikes and a tight labor market push up wages.

It will be up to franchisees whether to deploy the labor-saving technology, but Wendy’s President Todd Penegor did note that some franchise locations have been raising prices to offset wage hikes.

McDonald’s (MCD) has been testing self-service kiosks. But Wendy’s, which has been vocal about embracing labor-saving technology, is launching the biggest potential expansion.

Wendy’s Penegor said company-operated stores, only about 10% of the total, are seeing wage inflation of 5% to 6%, driven both by the minimum wage and some by the need to offer a competitive wage “to access good labor.”
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In addition to self-order kiosks, the company is also getting ready to move beyond the testing phase with labor-saving mobile ordering and mobile payment available systemwide by the end of the year. Yum Brands and McDonald’s already have mobile ordering apps.

… and Assiduous Reader SM draws my attention to drone racing:

With the drone industry charged, Mountain Dew® and DR1 Racing, announced a global partnership full of industry firsts. Featuring the top drone racing pilots in the world, this newly formed drone racing series marks the first branded partnership and national broadcast for this burgeoning sport. Headlining the series, the DR1 Invitational presented by Mountain Dew will air this August in a one-hour broadcast special. DR1 will also be the first truly live drone series to stream globally on Twitch, the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers.
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The DR1 Invitational presented by Mountain Dew will showcase 12 of the top drone racing pilots in the world as they compete for the title at the iconic Sepulveda Dam in Los Angeles this summer. Pilots, who control drones from the top of the dam, will face down a gauntlet of environmental and man-made obstacles as they fly their drones at speeds of more than 80 MPH while spectators watch on from above.

Sounds great, but best of all would be a demolition derby! Have a field – say the size of a football field – with a large hoop at each end. Go through the hoops alternately. Most hoop passages in twenty minutes wins. I’d buy tickets for that!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 13th, 2016 at 11:34 pm and is filed under Market Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.