Robots Out of Work as Automated Businesses Close in Bay Area
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
January 11, 2020
Photo of CEO and co-founder Julia Collins, left, and co-founder Alex Garden
FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, CEO and co-founder Julia Collins, left, and co-founder Alex Garden pose for a photo in front of one of the company's delivery trucks at Zume Pizza in Mountain View, Calif. It has not been a good week for robots in the San Francisco Bay Area. A Silicon Valley company that used robots to make its pizzas closed this week and three coffee shops in downtown San Francisco that used robots as baristas also shuttered. Zume Pizza said it is cutting 172 jobs in Mountain View, and eliminating another 80 jobs at its facility in San Francisco. Zume Chief Executive Alex Garden made the announcement about Zume in an email to company employees on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, the Mercury News reported. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — It has been a bad week for robots in the San Francisco Bay Area.
A Silicon Valley company that used robots to make its pizzas closed this week, and three coffee shops in downtown San Francisco that used robots as baristas also shuttered.
Zume Pizza said it is cutting 172 jobs in Mountain View and eliminating another 80 jobs at its facility in San Francisco. Zume Chief Executive Alex Garden made the announcement in an email to employees Wednesday, the Mercury News in San Jose reported.
The Mountain View startup, which first began delivering pizzas in 2016, said it intends to focus on its food packaging and delivery systems. Garden said former employees will be able to apply for the 100 new positions Zume expects to have in its packaging business.

Photo of a pizza making robot
FILE – In this Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, a robot places a pizza into an oven at Zume Pizza in Mountain View, Calif. It has not been a good week for robots in the San Francisco Bay Area. A Silicon Valley company that used robots to make its pizzas closed this week and three coffee shops in downtown San Francisco that used robots as baristas also shuttered. Zume Pizza said it is cutting 172 jobs in Mountain View, and eliminating another 80 jobs at its facility in San Francisco. Zume Chief Executive Alex Garden made the announcement about Zume in an email to company employees on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, the Mercury News reported. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Cafe X Will Continue to Have Competition in the Automated Coffee Market

In San Francisco, Cafe X closed three of its coffee shops in the financial district. The startup’s founder, Henry Hu, said the downtown cafes helped develop the newest machine being used at shops at San Francisco International Airport and Mineta San Jose International Airport, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
When Cafe X launched in 2017, its robotic baristas joined robots that made smoothies and hamburgers or mixed and dispensed salads and quinoa bowls.
Cafe X will continue to have competition in the automated coffee market. Briggo Coffee Haus has a robotic barista that can make 100 drinks per hour at San Francisco airport’s Terminal 3, the Chronicle reported.
Robotics have boomed in warehouses to speed up productivity and bring down costs and increasingly have moved into industries like food service.
In the Bay Area, the popularity of robots stems in part from the region’s infatuation with technology, food and automation.

DON'T MISS

Will FUSD Trustees Look First Only at Internal Candidates in Superintendent Search?

DON'T MISS

The 49ers Have Been Docked a 2025 Fifth-Round Draft Pick for an Accounting Error

DON'T MISS

Ohtani to Begin Throwing Program Soon. Roberts Hints Dodgers Star Might Play in the Field

DON'T MISS

Brothers Say They Found Amelia Earhart’s Plane, Will Donate It to Smithsonian

DON'T MISS

These Fresno Eclipse Chasers Are Hoping For 4 Minutes of Darkened Bliss in Texas

DON'T MISS

California Isn’t on Track to Meet Its Climate Change Mandates — and a New Analysis Says It’s Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Aaron Donald Announces His Retirement After a Standout 10-Year Career With the Rams

DON'T MISS

Baseball Superstar Ohtani and His Wife Arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB Opener

DON'T MISS

Terrified Residents of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District Sue for Streets Free of Drugs, Tents

DON'T MISS

If You Want to See the April Eclipse, Make Sure to Protect Your Eyes

No data was found

The 49ers Have Been Docked a 2025 Fifth-Round Draft Pick for an Accounting Error

8 hours ago

Fresno Bank Sued. It Allegedly Helped Bitwise Commit Fraud.

Bitwise /

8 hours ago

How California’s Prized Solution for Methane Gas Is Backfiring on Farmers

Environment /

11 hours ago

Supreme Court Seems Favorable to Biden Administration Over Efforts to Combat Social Media Posts

12 hours ago

Putin Extends Rule in Preordained Russian Election After Harshest Crackdown Since Soviet Era

12 hours ago

Ohtani to Begin Throwing Program Soon. Roberts Hints Dodgers Star Might Play in the Field

12 hours ago

Trump: Some Migrants Are ‘Not People’, There’ll Be a ‘Bloodbath’ if I Lose

12 hours ago

Tech Lawyer and Philanthropist Nicole Shanahan Rumored as RFK Jr.’s VP Pick

News /

12 hours ago

March Madness is Here. UConn, Purdue, Houston and North Carolina Get Top Seeding in NCAA Tournament

13 hours ago

Crafts Retailer Joann Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy as Consumers Cut Back on Pandemic-Era Hobbies

13 hours ago

Records Show That Valley Children’s Leader Suntrapak’s Pay Exceeds $5 Million

â– Valley Children’s paid CEO Todd Suntrapak $5.2 million in 2021. The hospital also gave him a $5 million forgivable home loan. â– The Va...
Healthcare /

7 hours ago

3 days ago

Realtor Association Settles Lawsuit on Commission Rules. Fresno Broker Fears the End of Market Transparency

3 days ago

Prosecutor Leaves Georgia Election Case Against Trump After Relationship With District Attorney

4 days ago

Rory McIlroy’s 65: 10 Birdies, 2 Tee Shots in the Water, 1 Testy Dispute

4 days ago

Aaron Donald Announces His Retirement After a Standout 10-Year Career With the Rams

4 days ago

New Book Explores the Myths, Truths and Legacy of the Macho Man

4 days ago

Baseball Superstar Ohtani and His Wife Arrive in South Korea for Dodgers-Padres MLB Opener

4 days ago

India’s New Citizenship Law Excludes Muslims. Here’s What to Know

4 days ago

US, G-7 Allies Warn Iran to Back Off Deal to Provide Russia Ballistic Missiles or Face New Sanctions

Photo of San Francisco 49ers' Arik Armstead

4 days ago

Former 49ers DT Arik Armstead Agrees to a 3-Year, $51 Million Deal with the Jaguars, AP Source Says

4 days ago

Supreme Court Rules Public Officials Can Sometimes Be Sued for Blocking Critics on Social Media

Search