McDonald's CEO says US$15 hourly wage, robots won't kill jobs

Protesters set up tents on the street as they demonstrate outside the McDonald's headquarters calling for higher wages and improved working conditions in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Illinois, U.S., May 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young

OAK BROOK, Illinois/LOS ANGELES: US restaurant operators would probably not replace workers with robots if they had to pay the US$15 (RM61) hourly wage demanded by protesters, McDonald's Corp chief executive officer Steve Easterbrook told shareholders at the company's annual meeting on May 26. 

Outside the meeting at McDonald's headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, about 1,000 fast-food workers and their supporters called for higher wages and benefits. The picketers are part of a national "Fight for US$15" movement that, along with an improving job market, has spurred wage hikes at major employers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and McDonald's, though not to the level demanded by protesters.