Wednesday, June 15th, 2022

IKEA to scale down business operations in Russia and Belarus 

The war in Ukraine has already had a terrible impact on so many people’s lives. It is a human tragedy that is continuing to affect people and communities.

On 3 March, Inter IKEA Group and Ingka Group announced the pausing of IKEA operations in Russia and Belarus as a consequence of the war in Ukraine. Since then, it has been a priority to provide support and security to co-workers, and the Groups of companies have been able to guarantee 6 months’ salary for all co-workers, as well as core benefits.

Unfortunately, the circumstances have not improved, and the devastating war continues. Businesses and supply chains across the world have been heavily impacted and we do not see that it is possible to resume operations any time soon. 

As a consequence, Inter IKEA Group and Ingka Group have now each decided to enter a new phase to further scale down the IKEA business in Russia and Belarus.

• The IKEA Retail business will remain stopped, and the workforce will be reduced, meaning that many co-workers will be affected. In order to support the scaling down process, Ingka Group plans to sell out its home furnishing inventory in Russia.  
• The Inter IKEA owned Industry business in Russia will reduce the workforce and start the process of finding new ownership for all four factories.
• Import and export of IKEA products to and from Russia and Belarus will remain stopped. The two Inter IKEA owned purchase and logistics offices in Moscow and Minsk will close permanently.

This process is currently underway and all actions and decisions taken will be guided by the IKEA values and to support our people to the best of our ability. 

Source: IKEA Global