A McDONALD'S WORKER IN CALIFORNIA EARNS $20 AN HOUR. A ROBOT THAT BRINGS YOUR ORDER TO THE TABLE COULD COST UNDER $1 AN HOUR. This is what McDonald's could look like soon: you order at the counter and a humanoid walks the bag to your table. The numbers chains are looking at: •California's fast food minimum wage has been $20 an hour since April 2024; •covering one position 16 hours a day, 365 days a year costs over $116,000 a year in wages alone; •humanoid robots are promised at $20,000–30,000 at scale; •$25,000 over 5 years at 16 hours a day comes to under $1 an hour; •US fast food turnover runs over 100% a year, so restaurants effectively rehire their whole staff every year; •McDonald's has over 40,000 restaurants worldwide. A robot is never late, never quits after 3 months and never calls in sick. The $9.79 Big Mac Meal isn't going anywhere. The only question is who brings it out.