Employees at Leningrad-Region IKEA factory to retain jobs after change in ownership - local authorities

ST. PETERSBURG. June 15 (Interfax) - The employees at the IKEA Industry Tikhvin factory in Tikhvin, Leningrad Region, of the Swedish company IKEA will retain their jobs after the owner sells the production facilities, the press service of the governor and the regional government reported.

"There are already requests from businesses for the production facilities and plots of IKEA Industry Tikhvin in the Leningrad Region. The company has notified us of its plans, and we are ready to join the search for an investor. The main aspect is that IKEA management prioritizes the sale of its assets to a party that will maintain production and retain the employees at the enterprise. This ensures that when the owner changes, people will not be left unemployed," the press service quoted Dmitry Yalov, deputy chairman for Economics and Investment of the Leningrad Region government, as saying.

IKEA had previously announced that it would sell its four Russian factories, including those in the Leningrad Region.

IKEA on March 4 suspended in-store and online sales on the Russian market, as well as production at its factories in Russia.