Ikea to create 1,300 jobs by end of 2018
Published: 17 May 2017 - Jenny Wonnacott
Swedish retailer Ikea has pledged to created 1,300 new jobs by the end of 2018 and to pay all workers the Real Living Wage.
Three new Ikea stores will help create more than 1000 new jobs
The company announced today that construction is underway in the first of three new stores. Exeter's Ikea will create 350 jobs. A further 480 – of which 380 will be in-store and 100 will be call-centre based – will be created in Sheffield, and the remaining 500 will crop up in Greenwich.
Ikea has also confirmed that all workers will be paid the Real Living Wage, currently at £9.75 per hour in London and £8.45 elsewhere. Ikea claims to be the first UK retailer to guarantee workers this wage, with the official national minimum wage at £7.50 for over-25s and £7.05 for under-25s.
The new jobs will span several departments, from store management to food and beverage service, customer relations, design, IT, marketing and sustainability. Once the new stores are completed, Ikea will have 22 outlets across the UK with a total of 11,700 employees.