Why did this article catch your attention?
This article caught my attention because Ikea will be closing one of its large stores, which will cause 352 Ikea employees to lose their jobs. This has not happened before in its 33-year history in the United Kingdom.
Where and when will the Ikea store close?
The store that Ikea are to close is based in Coventry. However, this article from the i newspaper does not mention when the store would close.
How would this affect the 350 Ikea employees?
This would affect the 352 Ikea employees awkwardly, especially financially because they would go from being in paid employment to claiming Universal Credit (unemployment benefits) at just over £300 per month.
They would also be affected mentally and physically.
Who else would be affected?
It’s not just the 352 Ike employees who would struggle to build flat packs. Here’s a list of others who would be affected by this:
Customers – If customers would like to purchase or return products to Ikea, they would have to travel further to get to another Ikea store to do so. Also, if customers have questions, queries or complaints, they would have to either travel further to get to another store, or call them. Otherwise, customers would have to visit a completely company altogether to purchase products.
Ikea – With a large Ikea store in Coventry closing down, Ikea would not be able to make as many sales as they would have done with the store open.
The Government – With the 352 Ikea employees losing their jobs, the government would not receive taxes from them, and they would have to pay out just over £300 per month in Universal Credit payments. For 352 people at £300 per month, it equates to £105,600 per month. This would reduce for every person who finds alternative employment.
I am one of the 352 affected Ikea employees. What can I do to seek alternative employment elsewhere?
If you would like to stay with Ikea as an employee, there should not be a problem with that. Have a word with the Human Resources department.
However, if you would rather look for alternative employment elsewhere, you can. There are different ways to seek alternative employment, especially when it comes to Customer Service and Retail.
A lot of companies require you to apply online, either on their respective careers pages (like the majority of the supermarkets do), or on Job Boards. Other companies accept CV’s or paper-based application forms.
The best thing to do, I feel, would be to complete Company Hunts to find out what companies there are in your local or ideal locations, as well as what vacancies there are and how to apply for those vacancies.
To find out more about Company Hunts and other ways of applying for employment, check out my General Job Search blog post.
Jamie's Job Search 