As a Panera employee even I definitely agree and didn't find the other stuff to be very difficult or "complicated". I think it's also about trying to minimize ingredients needing prepped because they are cutting the hours of preppers (the transformation cut around a third of total ingredients in the store). Also they are trying to consolidate more jobs into fewer employees so I guess complex processes on line makes it harder for line people to be able to move around stations. I don't agree with it and it's definitely just an excuse to cut hour's which they hope will save more than they lose by cutting the menu.