352 jobs at risk as Ikea plans to shut £35m store
IKEA last night announced a shock move to close one of its big UK stores for the first time.
The Swedish flat pack furniture giant, which opened its first UK store in 1987, confirmed it will be shutting its Coventry branch, putting 352 jobs at risk.
Ikea said the £35 million outlet, which opened at Christmas 2007, has made “consistent losses” because it is too expensive to keep operating.
Online shopping has also seen “visitor numbers being substantially lower than expected and continuing to decrease over time”, according to the company.
A statement said: “The store was which resulted in a significant impact on the operating costs of the store and the shopping experience for customers.”
Ikea will begin a consultation with the hundreds of workers affected and said its “ambition” is to retain as many staff as possible.
Dave Gill, national officer for the Usdaw union, said the announcement was “devastating news” for staff. He added: “Our priorities are to seek redeployment opportunities, minimise compulsory redundancies and secure the best deal we can for our members.”
The retailer said it was “not a realistic option” to downsize or redevelop the site.
Ikea added it tried a number of initiatives to keep it open but “these have not resolved the fundamental challenges connected to the location and the format of the store”.
The firm was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, who died in 2018 aged 92. It has 22 British superstores, but is looking to introduce smallerscale city centre shops. built over seven levels,