IKEA announces ‘caring for our people’ initiative to support co-workers during the cost-of-living crisis

People’s well-being is at the heart of our business 

We are guided by the vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people. And first and foremost, we are committed to a good life for our own co-workers. We have promised to stand by their side – and that’s what we will continue to do today and for the future. 

Our vision is what unites us - we are here to do business in a good way.  We will take actions to demonstrate our commitment to be a meaningful employer and support our co-workers, while balancing the needs of our business, always guided by our values.  Our culture, values, and IKEA spirit will help us face new challenges.

We are building an IKEA for generations to come. We have decided to allocate further support and resources to side with our many co-workers during this difficult time.  

Supporting our co-workers when they need it most  

Inflation, high energy prices and increased mortgages financially impact the income of our co-workers, customers, and communities. Households will once again be more vulnerable.  Areas where the most help is needed are costs for energy, housing and food.    

It is more important than ever that we meet our co-workers where they need help the most. We want to be locally relevant with country-specific plans and activate several common initiatives for all co-workers. We are working through the details of our country specific plans and how that looks for IKEA Australia co-workers. We will share updates on all the following initiatives as soon as we are able.  

Social Fund
A fund for each Ingka market to support our co-workers that may need additional assistance.  

Co-worker discount
We have agreed to increase our co-worker discount in all countries until the end of FY23. This is a doubling of the discount from 15% to 30% for all countries for selected energy-saving products and Swedish Food Market products.  

In addition, through our existing Employee Assistant Program (EAP), all co-workers have simple and easy access to financial advice and how to take advantage of potential government support and assistance, including mental health training with a special focus on how to manage financial stress.      

We will also help our co/workers build knowledge on how we can all best set up our homes so that we can maximize savings in energy and cost of living. 

We will continue to show up: a holistic approach    

With regards to the energy and cost of living crisis we continue to show up, asking ourselves where we see the opportunity to invest, mitigate, support our co-workers, side with our customers, and collaborate with our partners and suppliers.