Harsh Ghai, a major Burger King franchisee in California, said they are quickly rolling out digital order kiosks, a part of their cost-cutting efforts. 

He blames California's new $20 minimum wage for fast-food chain workers, saying that they are having difficulty rolling out kiosks needed to replace employees.

Major Burger King Franchisee Complains About California's $20 Minimum Wage

Harsh Ghai was interviewed by Business Insider regarding the digital order kiosks they are installing. He said that they can't move fast enough on it.

"We have kiosks in probably about 25% of our restaurants today," said Ghai.

"However, the other 75% are going to have kiosks in the next probably 30 to 60 days," added the Burger King franchisee.

This means that Harsh Ghai still needs to pay the new minimum wage until they reach their target number of kiosks. The Burger King franchisee owns 180 fast-food restaurants. Around 140 are Burger King locations, and the remaining restaurants are Popeyes and Taco Bell.

Since California's $20 minimum wage applies to franchisees with at least 60 locations in the US, Harsh Ghai is among the affected franchisees. The minimum wage took effect on Apr. 1, which means Ghai still needs to pay his employees' increased salaries for one to two months.

Read Also: Norway Labor Unions Successfully Negotiated a 5.2% Wage Increase, Avoiding Major Strike

California's $20 Minimum Wage Might Be Bad News for Workers

According to USA Today, the new minimum wage in California might also be bad news for fast-food chain workers since they could lose their jobs.

Burger King and other fast-food restaurants are already terminating their employees to prepare for the new $20 minimum wage.

Some of them plan to lay off hundreds of workers. Meanwhile, others could focus on freezing their hiring efforts and cutting back working hours.

Related Article: California to Impose New $20 Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers Starting Monday