Swedish furniture giant Ikea, which halted retail operations in Russia in March after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, has already “had to say goodbye” to around 10,000 of its 12,000 employees in Russia, said Jesper Brodin, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the holding company Ingka that manages most of Ikea’s stores, news agency AFP reported on Thursday.
Ikea on Thursday clocked a 6 per cent rise in full-year sales in what it described as a “challenging” year due to inflation and scaling back in Russia, AFP said.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ikea closed its 17 shops and halted production in the country, where it was one of the largest Western employers before the war with 15,000 employees.
When the war broke out in February this year, Ikea said the operations would also be halted in Belarus though the nation hosts only a few suppliers and has no shops.
“The devastating war in Ukraine is a human tragedy, and our deepest empathy and concerns are with the millions of people impacted,” the company said.
Ikea said “these decisions have a direct impact on 15,000 Ikea co-workers, and the company groups will secure employment and income stability and provide support to them and their families in the region”.
Meanwhile, US chipmaker Intel Corp is also planning a major reduction in headcount, likely numbering in the thousands, in the wake of an economic slowdown in the personal computer (PC) market, Bloomberg News said.
According to the report, the layoffs will be announced as early as this month and some of Intel’s divisions, including the sales and marketing group, could see cuts affecting about 20 per cent of staff.
Intel Corp had 113,700 employees as of July, Bloomberg News said. The chipmaker, however, declined to comment on the job cuts. The company in July slashed its annual sales and profit forecasts after missing estimates for second-quarter results.