Half of IKEA's Irish workers were leaving within a year. So it began paying more

In the aftermath of covid, more than 62,000 employees were departing a year, equating to about a third of its workforce

A worker walks past a mural depicting a panda in a yellow shopping bag inside the Ikea retail store in Hitech City on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India. Photographer: Udit Kulshrestha/Bloomberg

Ikea’s workers were quitting in droves in the US. In the UK and Ireland, half of all new hires were leaving before their first anniversary. Globally, each departure cost Ikea $5,000 (€4650) or more to replace.

To stem the bleeding, the Swedish furniture behemoth needed to figure out what was making its store workers so unhappy — and fix it fast. By 2022, more than 62,000 employees were departing a year for various reasons, equating to about a third of its workforce, and the pandemic-era labour shortage made it difficult to replenish its ranks.