Amazon will buy all Kiva's outstanding shares for $775 million in cash Amazon has agreed to buy Kiva Systems, a company specialized in automated materials handling in warehouses, the online retailer announced on Tuesday.Kiva makes robots and software used for a speedier workflow in warehouses. Amazon will use the warehouse automation technology to improve productivity by bringing products directly to employees who can process them faster. The Kiva technology will be added to the existing warehouse infrastructure, Amazon and Kiva said in a combined press release. Kiva’s shareholders approved the acquisition and Amazon will pay approximately US$775 million in cash for all of the outstanding shares. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.In its 2011 annual report, Amazon identified its ability to optimize its fulfillment centers and warehouses as one of the risk factors affecting its business.At the end of last year, it operated about 2.45 million square meters of fulfillment centers in North America, up by 67 percent on a year earlier, and a further 1.64 million square meters elsewhere in the world, up by 71 percent. The expansion continues: In February Amazon opened a new 100,000-square-meter fulfillment center in the U.S. state of Delaware, employing 850.What the effects of automation will be on Amazon’s growing warehouse workforce remains to be seen. The company typically employs many seasonal workers, especially around the year-end holiday season. Amazon did not reply to a request for comment on possible employee reductions.Loek covers all things tech for the IDG News Service. Follow him on Twitter at @loekessers or email tips and comments to loek_essers@idg.com Related content brandpost Sponsored by Catchpoint Systems, Inc. Gain full visibility across the Internet Stack with IPM (Internet Performance Monitoring) Today’s IT systems have more points of failure than ever before. Internet Performance Monitoring provides visibility over external networks and services to mitigate outages. By Neal Weinberg Dec 01, 2023 3 mins IT Operations brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers can save money during periods of economic uncertainty Now is the time to overcome the challenges of perimeter-based architectures and reduce costs with zero trust. By Zscaler Dec 01, 2023 4 mins Security feature LexisNexis rises to the generative AI challenge With generative AI, the legal information services giant faces its most formidable disruptor yet. That’s why CTO Jeff Reihl is embracing and enhancing the technology swiftly to keep in front of the competition. By Paula Rooney Dec 01, 2023 6 mins Generative AI Digital Transformation Cloud Computing feature 10 business intelligence certifications and certificates to advance your BI career From BI analysts and BI developers to BI architects and BI directors, business intelligence pros are in high demand. Here are the certifications and certificates that can give your career an edge. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 01, 2023 8 mins Certifications Business Intelligence IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe