Home industry retail iKEA to lay off 7,500 but will hire 11,500 too

IKEA to lay off 7,500 but will hire 11,500 too

Retail

CIO Bulletin
2018-11-22

IKEA has announced that it will be making some major changes in an effort to transform its business. In the process, though it will be laying off as many as 7,500 of its employees who do redundant work. The furniture retailer has a total of 160,000 on its payroll and the workforce restructure will be focusing mainly on its international functions and offices in 30 markets.

The company has also said that over the next two years 11,500 new jobs will be created globally to invest in its “fulfillment network” and to improve its digital capabilities. These jobs will also come to 30 new touchpoints IKEA is planning for the next two years.

As more and more customers are inclining towards the e-commerce sites for shopping the furniture retail giant is also making efforts towards going online. It will be investing more on increasing its digital footprint in the coming year to keep up with the changing market. Addressing this, Ingka’s CEO Jasper Brodin said: “We continue to grow and perform strongly. At the same time, we recognize that the retail landscape is transforming at a scale and pace we’ve never seen before. As customer behaviors change rapidly, we are investing in and developing our business to meet their needs in better and new ways.”