Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Ikea is reducing staff by 650 in Sweden. The announced reductions primarily affect office-employees in Malmö, Helsingborg and Älmhult. The reductions are part of a global restructuring programme affecting 7,500 employees in several countries.
The widespread restructuring is meant to modernise operations and better prepare Ikea for future growth. According to a company spokesperson, Ikea wants to focus more on digitalisation, home delivery, service delivery and city shops, which requires the company to assess existing competences and map the need for new types of expertise. According to the spokesperson, Ikea is now in a test-phase where the focus lies on mapping needs for people living in large cities and investigating how city-shops can complement existing department stores.
The restructuring operations are also expected to create several new jobs requiring different kinds of expertise, but there is no plan regarding the location for these jobs. The restructuring process is estimated to take up to two years, and connotes the largest staff shift in the history of the company.
Eurofound (2018), Ikea, Internal restructuring in Sweden, factsheet number 95850, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/95850.
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