Ikea furniture retailer to cut more jobs

[July 07, 2009]  STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Swedish flat-pack giant Ikea must cut more jobs than previously announced as the financial crisis continues to weigh on demand for its furniture, founder Ingvar Kamprad said Tuesday.

Kamprad did not say exactly how many workers would be affected. In the past 10 months, Ikea has already slashed 5,000 jobs globally after sales dropped 7 percent below budget.

"We need to reduce personnel further mainly within production and logistics," he told Swedish daily Dagens Industri. "It's about adjusting to sales being far below budget and becoming more efficient."

Ikea spokeswoman Charlotte Lindgren said the cuts were meant to improve efficiency at existing stores, but said there were no details about where and when the cuts would be made.

Lindgren said Ikea would still be recruiting staff in the 50 new stores it plans to open.

Kamprad founded Ikea in 1943 and the group now has 246 stores and around 140,000 staff globally.

[Associated Press; By KEITH MOORE]

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