Zebra Technologies’ foray into warehouse automation will be short lived.
The enterprise technology company known mostly for its barcode scanners, RFID solutions and mobile handheld devices is exploring strategic alternatives for its robotics automation business.
In a Monday regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Zebra indicated that it would “dispose [of] or exit” its autonomous mobile robotics (AMR) business. The Robot Report first broke the news of a strategic review last Friday.
Zebra expects to incur up to $80 million of one-time pre-tax charges involved with the review, including roughly $60 million in impairment charges during the company’s fourth quarter. The actions are expected to save $20 million in the long run.
According to a Zebra spokesperson, the review pivots the technology company further back to its core offerings.
“This move will enable Zebra to further sharpen our strategic focus on digitizing and automating frontline workflows and on our investments in key growth areas, including our core markets such as mobile computing, printing, and scanning as well as RFID, machine vision, AI and software solutions,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Long term, we will continue to provide solutions that empower organizations to increase productivity, optimize inventory, and automate workflows to better serve consumers and patients across our key industries.”
The Robot Report indicated that most of Zebra’s robotics staff will be laid off by the end of 2025. Around 25 percent of the staff will stay on until March 2026 to manage current AMR deployments.
That report also said the AMR businesses wasn’t scaling as fast as Zebra had hoped, despite continuous investments in the division.
Already having offered several technologies designed to improve workflow on the floor for warehouse workers, Zebra stepped into warehouse automation when it acquired Fetch Robotics for $290 million in August 2021. Zebra had a 5 percent stake in Fetch prior to the acquisition.
With Fetch under its wing, Zebra integrated a series of AMRs to optimize picking in fulfillment and distribution centers and facilitate just-in-time material delivery in manufacturing sites.
At the time, the company said the robotics solutions would help reduce the impact of labor shortages in fulfillment, distribution and manufacturing environments. The technologies could integrate with third-party warehouse and manufacturing systems without the need for changes to facilities or infrastructure.
After the acquisition, Zebra introduced various new robots and enhancements, most recently expanding its robot-assisted picking system, Zebra Symmetry Fulfillment, in January.
The platform can connect all its robots via cloud-based fleet management software, and is built to route robots within a fulfillment center more efficiently, while allowing workers to pick more items faster.
The Fetch name has been largely scrubbed from Zebra’s branding of the AMR division in the years since the deal, and was not included in the company’s AMR portfolio brochure released earlier this year. The acquired company’s founder and CEO, Melonee Wise, headed the division for 18 months after the acquisition before leaving for a competitor, Agility Robotics.
As Zebra phases out of robotics, the company has recently expanded its arsenal elsewhere with the $1.3 billion acquisition of interactive touchscreen solutions provider Elo Touch.
That technology further embeds Zebra into retail stores, quick service restaurants and healthcare environments, via customer-facing point-of-sale (POS), self-service and payment experiences.
The core focus shift comes as the company has seen organic sales growth plummet over the past year. While the 2024 third and fourth quarters saw year-over-year organic net sales expand 30.6 percent and 31.6 percent respectively, that number slowed down to 6.3 percent in this year’s second quarter, and again to 4.8 percent in the 2025 third quarter.
Including acquisitions, Zebra’s net sales grew 5.2 percent in the third quarter to $1.3 billion on net income of $198 million.
Year-to-date, company stock is down more than 34 percent.
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