The End of Fast-Food Jobs in Utah

California is a big state, and what happens in the Golden State impacts our region. Sometimes, California's shenanigans influence the entire country. California Governor Gavin Newsom and the state legislature enacted a law raising the working wage of fast-food workers. 

The politicians bragged that it would help the industry's workers. Shockingly, it has had the opposite effect, as thousands of fast-food workers have been fired. Some big and small franchises have closed locations due to the high cost of labor and Bidenomics.

For many of us, our first job was working at a McDonald's or a Burger King. Today, those jobs could be gone as employers look to incorporate robotics into fast food preparation. Could robots really learn how to flip a burger?

It's not just California, where technology has replaced humans. (Do you remember the first time you used a self-checkout at your favorite supermarket or when checking into an airline?)

Several fast food restaurants greet you not with a person but with a giant screen where you place your order, pay, and get a number. Either a human will bring you your food, or they'll call your number to the front.

Managers tell us that working without a full complement of shift workers is common, especially on the weekends. "It's a tough job, and these kids have to take a lot of verbal abuse, " one manager explained.

Today's young workers don't have the same work ethic as their parents and grandparents. The abuse teenagers take from angry callers and the low pay make the job not worth the time. The lack of workers leads to longer waits and angrier customers.

What once was thought of as science fiction, robots cooking food, could one day be our reality. Do you still have doubts? How many telephone operators are working today?