McDonald’s CEO warns $15 minimum wage will lead to ‘massive layoffs’ as fast food industry replaces workers with self-serve kiosks

05/03/2016 / By newstarget / Comments

Former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi believes that a $15 minimum wage will push companies to set up self-service kiosks to save money

In 2011, McDonald’s ordered over 7,000 kiosks to replace employees in European countries where costs are higher

Rensi said he believes the labor organizers behind the McDonald’s campaign are more interested in their individual checks going up

Rensi started McDonald’s career on the grill before working his way up 

A Former McDonald’s CEO has predicted that raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour will cost people entry-level jobs.

In a column he wrote for Forbes, Ed Rensi says that the increased minimum wage won’t be detrimental to the company but it will wipe out thousands of job opportunities.

‘I can assure you that a $15 minimum wage won’t spell the end of the brand,’ he wrote.

(Article by Alexandra Klausner, republished from //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3561956/Former-McDonald-s-CEO-predicts-15-wage-trigger-massive-layoffs-increase-self-service-kiosks.html#ixzz47blAauzO)

‘However it will mean wiping out thousands of entry-level opportunities for people without many other options.’

Rensi started his career at McDonald’s back in 1966 as a grill man and manager trainee. He subsequently went on to hold nearly every position in the restaurant and field offices, before working his way up the corporate ladder. He became president in 1991, a position he held for 14 years.

Labor organizers have been demanding an increase in wages and Rensi warned of the potential dangers of those people getting their way.

Rensi explained that an average McDonald’s franchise will make $2.6million in annual revenue leaving it with $156,000 in profit after deducting operating costs and fees.

Rensi says that if a worker were to make $15 per hour it would erase three quarters of a franchise’s profitability.

Rather than raise prices, McDonalds is more likely to replace people with self-service computer kiosks so they do not have to pay the high wage.

In 2011, McDonald’s ordered over 7,000 kiosks to replace employees in European countries where costs are higher.

Rensi writes that if one in every four jobs is replaced by a computer that over a million American youths may otherwise be out of a job.

Rensi said he believes the labor organizers behind the McDonald’s campaign are more interested in their individual checks going up and are not thinking about the impact their fight could have on young workers in America.

‘You’ll see their legacy every time you visit the Golden Arches, where “would you like fries with that” is a button on a computer screen rather than a phrase spoken by an employee in their first job,’ he wrote.

Read more: //www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3561956/Former-McDonald-s-CEO-predicts-15-wage-trigger-massive-layoffs-increase-self-service-kiosks.html#ixzz47blAauzO

Submit a correction >>

This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author