New Delhi: Ikea, the largest Swedish retailer of home furnishings in the world, sacked 10,000 employees in Russia. This comes months after the world’s biggest furniture brand already had suspended operations at its 17 Russian stores and paused exports and imports involving the country as Moscow raged war in Ukraine. It also paused operations in Belarus, which is a Russian ally.Also Read – Ikea's Retail Operator Ingka Group Plans To Set Up City Centres at Gurugram, Noida at Rs 7,245 Crore
Ikea “had to say goodbye” to around 10,000 of its 12,000 employees in Russia, Jesper Brodin, the chief executive of the holding company Ingka that manages most of Ikea’s stores, was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
Ikea said it saw a six per cent rise in sales and described it as “challenging” year due to “inflation and scaling” in Russia as per the report.
Earlier, Ikea said imports and exports of products to and from Russia and Belarus will remain stopped, and that the purchase and logistics offices in Moscow and Minsk will close permanently.