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Automation Wendy's

Wendy's champions automation and self-service kiosks as minimum wage increase looms

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

May 13, 2016 | 2 min read

US restaurant chain Wendy’s is looking to slice staffing costs by introducing automated kiosks to more than 6000 outlets.

Wendy's self-service

With the minimum wage set to rise, the brand is looking to offset increased costs with the investment in the disruptive technology.

Franchisees will have the option to raise prices to instead bridge the earnings gap but the roll out of self-ordering tech is expected to be one of the most decisive adoptions staff cutting measures in the industry to date.

The company is also reportedly in the midst of testing mobile ordering technology like that championed by McDonald’s and Starbucks.

The business faces a five per cent hike in wages across the board as a result of the measures.

Wendy's president Todd Penegor admitted that "Some of [the roll out of automated and self ordering services] is driven by minimum wage."

Automation Wendy's

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