Staff sent packing

Flat-pack furniture giant IKEA is axing 350 UK jobs despite raking in nearly £2billion in sales.

The job losses – mainly at head office – are among 7,500 redundancies worldwide announced yesterday. It is part of a shift by IKEA to open a wave of 30 city centre branches internationally, as well as ramping up its online arm.

The push will create 11,500 jobs over the next two years, it said. Javier Quiñones, IKEA boss for the UK and Ireland, said: “We are in a fastchanging retail environment and while we continue to grow, we are evaluating how we can remain relevant in the eyes of consumers – now and in the future.”

UK sales at IKEA rose 5.9% to £1.95bn last year.

In May, it ditched plans to build a store near Preston, Lancs, amid uncertainty on the British high street.