On: How much do construction costs matter to the price...

[chrisseaton]

I don't think those large industrial bakeries really have 'bakers'? They have automation engineers, food scientists, mechanics.

[vkou → chrisseaton]

No, those people are the specialists that come in and set things up, or design and build the machinery that gets set up.

The day-to-day work is done by bakers, and much of it is not automated.

[OJFord → vkou]

It's a factory job though, their employer 'competes' for them with the other nearby factories, not the nearby independent bakeries.

[ghaff → chrisseaton]

As I say. I don't know who is counted. In any case, I certainly imagine grocery chains that bake on-premise have "bakers" and there are more of them in that type of job than working in high-end artisan bakeries.

[datadawg → chrisseaton]

Just wanted to say I've enjoyed this HN rabbithole gold, where we've gone from talking about increasing house costs to discussing the role of bakers in modern day industrial bakeries :)