War in Ukraine: Ikea will sell its four factories and reduce the number of employees in Russia

Swedish furniture company Ikea announced this on Wednesday will sell its four factories in Russia, where it will also reduce its workforce and liquidate its stocks.

Ikea “will reduce its workforce and begin the process of finding new owners for its four factories,” said the company’s statement, which suspended its sales in this country in early March. after the start of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.

The Scandinavian company underlines, as part of a “new phase of reduction of its operations in Russia and Belarus”, that its two logistics offices in Moscow and Minsk will be closed “permanently”.

In addition, it will keep sales in Russia suspended, so “many workers will be affected”. “To support the reduction process, (…) it plans to sell its furniture inventory in Russia,” the statement specifies.

Western exodus from Moscow

Ikea recalls that on March 3 it decided to suspend activities in Russia and Belarus due to the “war in Ukraine”, but that since then guaranteed “six months’ salary for all workers“.

“Unfortunately the circumstances have not improved e the devastating war continues. Businesses and supply chains around the world have been hit hard and we don’t see any resumption of operations in the foreseeable future. “

Since the start of the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, almost all international companies have left the Russian market.

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Starbucks are some of the companies they have interrupted or closed its activities in Russia due to Western sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West that his companies they will have a lot of difficulty in returning to the Russian market and felt that his departure “might even be for the better”.

In this regard, the director of the Rostec company, Sergei Chemezov, rejected “full import substitution” as an alternative to Western economic sanctions and stressed that Russia must remain part of the global worldwhere it is impossible to progress “without international partners”.

“It doesn’t make sense, it’s andeconomically inconvenient and simply impossible. This is not done by any developed country in the world. Isolation, including technology, and trying to do it all on your own are a road to nowhere. The betrayal of the West is not a reason to close doors and windows, “she said.

Source: EFE