White Castle will use robots to flip burgers at 100 stores across the US trends now
White Castle will use robots to flip burgers and fry fries in more than 100 stores across the US - in a move the company says will give burnt-out staff 'an extra hand' as the restaurant industry struggles to recruit new workers.
The fast food chain's vice-president Jamie Richardson insisted last week that the robot will give staff who were burnt out during the COVID-19 pandemic an extra hand by taking over some of the day-to-day operations in nearly one-third of its stores.
Richardson said that it was 'hard' to recruit new workers, and at least 65% of restaurant owners said they have found it difficult to find new hires, according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association.
'We're a 24-hour operation, family-owned business that's been around for 102 years. This is unlike anything we've ever seen. We have incredible people, we were named a great place to work for the second time in a row, but we still aren't completely fully staffed. But we're getting there, it doesn't happen overnight, but we're making good progress.'
White Castle will use robots to flip burgers and fry fries in more than 100 stores across the US - in a move the company says will give burnt-out staff 'an extra hand'
The Ohio-based fast food chain has been experimenting with the robot, Flippy, which costs approximately $3,000 per month, since September 2020 and later rolled out an expanded and upgraded program in November 2021.
After initial success with the program in 2020 and 2021, the company who makes Flippy, Miso Robotics, said the intended goal is to alleviate stress for Flippy's human coworkers.
'Flippy will drop everything into the fryer and then at the perfect time, take everything out, give it a little shake and put it into the area for the packaging for the team members,' White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson said in a recent interview with 'Fox and Friends.'
White Castle now joins the ranks of McDonald's, Sonic and Checkers, which have all spent the past few years working to implement AI into their restaurants.
White Castle executives reported positive findings with the rollout, as well, with a February press release stating Flippy had an 'immediate positive impact' on the workplace environment.
'By taking over the work of an entire fry station, Flippy 2 alleviates the pain points that come with back-of-house roles at quick-service restaurants to create a working environment for its human coworkers that maximizes the efficiency of the kitchen,' Miso Robotics said in February.
White Castle officials said at the time team members also had increased productivity in daily operations.
'The improved workflow allows for the redeployment of team members to focus on creating memorable moments for
