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Chipotle (CMG) hopes two new robots will help it serve customers craving its burritos, bowls, and salads, it confirmed to Quartz.
One robot, known as “Autocado,” will help the chain location in Huntington Beach, California, cut, core, and peel avocados. Autocado has been on Chipotle’s radar for quite some time, with testing dating back to July 2023.
Chipotle expects to use 5.18 million cases of avocados this year, and said Autocado will “process one avocado” in just 26 seconds.
In April, former Chipotle CEO, Brian Niccol, previously hinted at using Autocado sometime this year. In March, he floated the idea that Autocado would help it give customers “more consistent portion sizes.” That all took place before social media outcry from customers, who complained the chain’s portion sizes were way too small.
Chipotle’s second robot, which it has labeled a less splashy “Augmented Makeline,” will be responsible for building bowls and salads at the chain’s location in Corona del Mar, California.
The company said roughly 65% of digital orders today are either bowls or salads and that, by getting some robotic help, it’ll be able to handle the large volume of orders. However, the robots could also go the way of Chippy, an earlier robotic experiment by Chipotle that turned about to be “too cumbersome” to clean.
The introduction of these robots may reflect a broader staffing strategy, especially in states like California, where raising the minimum wage has impacted labor costs. Some fast food companies have responded with price hikes, and in some cases, laid off workers.
Similar to McDonald’s (MCD) approach to introduce more digital kiosks, Chipotle’s robotic bet might lead to lost jobs. Chipotle did not say whether it intended the robots to eventually replace real employees.
Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief customer and technology officer, said that the robots could help it “build a stronger operational engine,” but whether there are broader pilot plans depends on feedback from customers and employees.