Chick-fil-A’s lemon-squeezing automation cuts over 10,000 hours per day: report

Atlanta, Georgia-based Chick-fil-A Inc. is cutting nearly 10,000 hours of work per day at its locations through the automation of lemon squeezing, which produces the juice used in one of the fast-food chain’s most popular drinks, according to reports.

Bloomberg reported the company, which branded the slogan “Eat more chicken,” has a plant just north of Los Angeles with machines occupying space larger than a typical Costco Wholesale.

The same machines occupying the space are tasked with squeezing as much as 1.6 million pounds of lemons before bagging the juice and sending it off to Chick-fil-A locations all over the country. Once at the restaurant, staff members add sugar and water to create the company’s trademark lemonade.

Prior to incorporating the robots into the process, staff members at restaurants were responsible for squeezing the lemons, which sometimes resulted in injured fingers.

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By taking the task out of the staff’s hands and streamlining it through automation, the company hopes to make working at its locations more appealing.

“You start doing the math, and there’s not going to be enough team members,” Mike Hazelton, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of supply chain procurement and operations, told Bloomberg.

The lemon-squeezing site reportedly has 120 employees to maintain the equipment and ensure the juice produced meets quality standards.

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Once the truckloads arrive, an employee signs off on the shipment before the machines begin to process them from fruit to juice.

Even the oils from the peels are extracted during the process before being sent to cosmetic and fragrance industry companies, which brings in a new stream of revenue for Chick-fil-A.

Bloomberg reported that nearly all of the lemon is used when processed at the facility, resulting in about 40% higher efficiency than when employees squeezed the lemons.

Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for more information about the process and what it means for business.

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Chick-fil-A is not the only company looking for ways to use technology for automation.

Last year, Yum! Brands, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill restaurants, began embracing technology with plans for “AI-powered” fast food, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The company has been increasing investment in technology and automation, with about 45%, or $30 billion, of sales being digital, nearly twice what it was in 2019, Joe Park, Yum’s chief digital and technology manager, told the newspaper. That is roughly double the level of 2019.

The move came as states like California raised the minimum wage. In California, most fast-food workers were bumped to at least $20 per hour when a new minimum wage law went into effect in April.

As a result, most restaurant operators began turning to AI to cut costs and increase sales, the Journal reported.

For fast-food giants like Yum, the use of AI is aimed at going beyond improving the customer experience. 

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Yum! has a mobile app for restaurant managers called SuperApp, which The Wall Street Journal reported is testing generative AI, allowing team members to ask operational questions like how to set oven temperatures. Park told the Journal the app, used by more than 8,700 Pizza Hut and KFC establishments, can also be used to purchase ingredients and set employee shifts. And a new augmented reality feature could help teach workers how to make new menu items.

Fast-food chains have also been increasing investment in technology like digital ordering and more drive-thrus since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While some worry AI may take over the need for human workers, a Yum! spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal “its employees will always play a critical role.”

Fox News Digital’s Pilar Arias contributed to this report.