IKEA has fired 10,000 workers in Russia after a fallout over the Ukraine war. The Swedish furniture giant halted operations in Russia in March following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The chain already "had to say goodbye" to around 10,000 of its 12,000 employees in Russia, Jesper Brodin, the chief executive of the holding company Ingka that manages most of Ikea's stores, told AFP. Today it posted a six per cent rise in full-year sales, described as a "challenging" year due to inflation and its decision to scale back operations in Russia.
H&M, IKEA and Nike are set to join scores of brands that have suspended operations in Russia, reports the Mirror, due to the country sending thousands of its troops to Ukraine on February 24. IKEA, the world's biggest furniture brand, shut down its stores in March and said it would sell factories, close offices and reducing its 15,000-strong workforce in Russia.
In May, Marks & Spencer (M&S) said it would remove all its stores and leave the country completely, firing 1,200 workers. The store stopped sending items to Russia in March, but said it could not close 50 M&S outlets due to its franchise agreements.
IKEA stores owner Ingka group, which is also one of the world's leading shopping centre owners, however, has kept its "Mega" shopping malls in Russia open. Zara, also hugely popular in Russia with 502 stores, closed its doors in the country in the same month.
An Inditex statement at the time said: "In the current circumstances Inditex cannot guarantee the continuity of the operations and commercial conditions in the Russian Federation and temporarily suspends its activity."
Kyiv's soldiers have remained defiant despite the horrors of war, with them shooting down four of Moscow's helicopters in just 18 minutes on Wednesday. The helicopters, believed to be two-seat Soviet era Ka-52s, were attacked by missiles between 8.40am and 8.58am local time, according to the country’s general staff.
The official account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine tweeted: "Productive morning, Ukrainian style. Today, in just 18 minutes, service members of #UAarmy shot down 4 Russian helicopters that were spoiling beautiful autumn skies in the south of Ukraine.
"No place for Alligators here. The local climate is hostile towards them."
On Telegram, Ukraine's air force said that aircrafts were likely "providing fire support to the ground occupation troops in the southern direction". The claims were partially confirmed by pro-Russian sources on the same messaging app. The post also said that there is a high probability that the toll of confirmed downed helicopters could increase.
