You could pay workers $1/hour and if there's a machine that can do the job, the machine will win. The rate of worker replacement will be faster when the wage is higher but even poverty-line wages won't prevent automation from taking over. Robots work for free. Free always wins.
Robots represent a very high capital cost, and then there is ongoing maintenance.
Over time the cost will fall regardless there is always a break-even point for any cost benefit analysis that compares labor to robotic cost. The higher you raise the hourly wage, the more likely that a robotic alternative can be developed that is cost effective.
From a P&L (Profit and loss) perspective a robotic system is depreciated over its estimated useful life, so the P&L will reflect that period cost (plus maintenance) in lieu of labor charges so it's not reported as free, besides the up-front capital requirement.
Another aspect - companies awash in cash and or that have large debt capacity are going to be looking hard at automated cost savings since they have that cash available for investment and seek high ROI. Companies with marginal profitability and weak cash or debt capacity will be very constrained from investing in technology.
