IKEA to slash 300 jobs

Swedish furniture company, IKEA is closing its only US factory at the end of the year. The action is reported to slash as many as 300 jobs. 

The reason behind shutting the US factory is reported to make the production more cost effective and hence IKEA will make products in Europe and import them. 

The global big-box furniture store, known for its Swedish meatballs and sometimes incomprehensible assembly instructions, said raw material costs were too high compared to plants in Europe meaning prices at the plant in the southern Virginia town of Danville were "significantly higher."

Bert Eades, the company’s site manager shared in media, “We made every effort to improve and maintain the competitiveness of this plant, but unfortunately the right cost conditions are not in place to continue production in Danville, VA for the long-term.”

The Swedish company runs more than 40 production facilities in Europe, China and Russia. It employs about 20,000 production workers at those locations and roughly 160,000 people globally.

Last year, IKEA said it would cut 7,500 jobs in a restructuring that it said would create 11,500 jobs over the next two years. In December, IKEA said it would eliminate about 90 positions at the Danville facility.