IKEA Ordered to Pay $1.2 Million Fine<br />for Spying on French Workers.<br />On June 15, the French branch of Ingka Group, which owns<br />most of the world’s IKEA stores, was fined $1.2 million. .<br />A French court ruled that<br />the retailer was guilty of<br />spying on its staff through<br />the improper gathering and<br />storage of employee data.<br />This includes breaching their employees’ privacy by<br />reviewing bank account records and sometimes writing up<br />reports on staff via fake employee profiles.<br />According to worker<br />representatives, this<br />snooping often targeted<br />union leaders.<br />It was also used to give IKEA an inappropriate advantage in<br />customer disputes by sifting through people’s financial records.<br />Ingka Group has since released a statement saying<br />they “strongly” condemn and apologize for their actions. .<br />IKEA Retail France has strongly<br />condemned the practices, apologized<br />and implemented a major action plan to<br />prevent this from happening again, Ingka Group, via Reuters.<br />France is IKEA’s third-biggest market<br />after Germany and the United States. .<br />The furniture retailer has about<br />10,000 employees in France.
