Economic Policy Journal
As government intervention via minimum wage laws and other labor regulations make it more expensive to higher low skilled employees, more and more employers are turning to automation. Automation may occur in some cases even if there weren't the government regulatory restrictions, and that is not a bad thing, but the restrictions expand the number of positions where automation makes sense and results in higher unemployment of the low skilled.
McDonald's appears to be the latest to be testing out advanced automation.
In Europe, McDonald’s is partly replacing cashiers at its 7,000 fast-food restaurants in the region with touchscreen terminals and swipe cards, reports FT.
MCD is careful to portray the move as not hurting jobs, but that is exactly what is going. MCD is growing rapidly in Europe, so it will require some employees at new locations and thus the job losses will be somewhat hidden, but job losses are exactly what will occur as a result of the kiosks that are at least in part the result of minimum wage laws.
Link:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2014/05/battling-higher-minimum-wages-mcdonalds.html
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