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Based in Atlanta, Georgia According to reports, Chick-fil-A Inc. is cutting about 10,000 hours of work per day at its locations through the automation of lemon squeezing, which is used in one of the fast-food chain’s most popular drinks. Produces juice.
The company, which coined the slogan “Eat More Chicken,” has a plant just north of Los Angeles, with machines taking up more space than a typical Costco Wholesale, Bloomberg reported.
The same machines that take up space are tasked with squeezing up to 1.6 million pounds of lemons, after which the juice is bagged and shipped to Chick-fil-A locations across the country. Once at the restaurant, staff members mix sugar and water to make the company’s trademark lemonade.
Before robots were incorporated into the process, restaurant workers were responsible for squeezing the lemons, sometimes resulting in injured fingers.
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Shoreview, Minn., an outdoor patio at Chick-fil-A, an American fast-food restaurant chain specializing in chicken sandwiches. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images)
By taking the work out of the hands of employees and streamlining it through automation, the company hopes to make work at its locations more attractive.
“You start doing the math, and there won’t be enough team members,” Mike Hazleton, Chick-fil-A The vice president of supply chain procurement and operations told Bloomberg.
The lemon squeezing site reportedly has 120 employees to maintain the equipment and ensure that the juice produced meets quality standards.
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Ripe lemons hang on a lemon tree in front of a house in Portugal on March 29, 2023. (Viola Lopes/Picture Alliance via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Once the goods arrive in the truck, an employee signs off on the shipment before the machines begin the process from fruit to juice.
Even the oil from the peel is extracted during the process before being sent to cosmetic and fragrance industry companies, bringing in a new stream of revenue for Chick-fil-A.
Bloomberg reported that almost all of the lemons are used when processed at the facility, resulting in about 40% greater efficiency than squeezing lemons by employees.
Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to Fox Business’ request for more information about the process and what it means for the business.
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A Chick-fil-A restaurant in Indianapolis in May 2019. (iStock/iStock)
Chick-fil-A isn’t the only company looking for ways to use technology for automation.
Last year, Yum! Brands including KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill restaurants operators began adopting the technology with plans. “AI-powered” fast food, According to the report of Wall Street Journal.
Joe Park, Yum’s chief digital and technology manager, told the newspaper that the company is increasing investment in technology and automation, with about 45% or $30 billion of sales being digital, almost double compared to 2019. This is almost double the 2019 level.
The move comes as states like California raised the minimum wage. In California, most fast-food workers were paid at least $20 an hour when the new minimum wage law took effect in April.
As a result, most restaurant operators began turning to AI to cut costs and increase sales, the Journal reports.
For fast-food giants like Yum, the use of AI aims to go beyond improvement customer experience.
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Yum! There’s a mobile app for restaurant managers called SuperApp, which The Wall Street Journal reports is testing generative AI, allowing team members to ask operational questions like how to set the oven temperature. Park told the Journal that the app, used by more than 8,700 Pizza Hut and KFC establishments, can also be used to purchase ingredients and schedule employee shifts. And a new augmented reality feature could help teach workers how to create new menu items.
Fast-food chains are also increasing investments in technology such as digital ordering and more drive-thrus since the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some worry that AI could eliminate the need for human workers, a Yum! “Its employees will always play an important role,” the spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal.
Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias contributed to this report.
