Ikea sorry for use of forced German labour

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has expressed regret that it benefited from the use of forced prison labour by some of its suppliers in communist East Germany more than two decades ago.

The company released an independent report showing that East German prisoners, among them many political dissidents, were involved in the manufacture of goods that were supplied to Ikea 25 to 30 years ago.

The report concluded that Ikea managers were aware of the possibility that prisoners would be used in the manufacture of its products but failed to monitor the issue.