IKEA to close during COVID-19 pandemic; will employees be taken care of?
Published March 18, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Effective immediately, IKEA Canada announced the temporary closure of all store locations nationwide as a precautionary measure due to the ongoing risk of COVID-19.
“Our top priority during these challenging times continues to be health and safety. Our communities are working hard to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and to support these efforts, we will temporarily close all stores across the country to support social distancing efforts and based on recommendations from local health authorities,” said Michael Ward, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Canada.
Based on the evolving pandemic, IKEA Canada decided to close all stores to customers until further notice. IKEA will remain open online at IKEA.ca, offering home delivery services as well as store Click & Collect pick-up between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. The retailer will also extend all current commercial offers until April 30th.
IKEA says it’s also committed to supporting its 7,300 workers “in the best possible way during the closure” by paying employees for their scheduled hours and through its benefits package and paid leave policy.
“Additionally, we are currently looking at new opportunities for our retail co-workers including cross-training, supporting other areas of the business, as well as focusing on eLearning, competence development and other training opportunities,” added the retail giant.
IKEA Canada is part of Ingka Group which operates 374 IKEA stores in 30 countries, including 14 in Canada.
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