IKEA said it will shortly begin talks with the Irish government and eight other countries about returning the financial support they received to support workers during the Covid-19 lockdown. Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA stores, said it had already repaid aid received from the Serbian government to cover wages for furloughed staff during the lockdown, and was about to do the same in Romania. The company told the Irish Examiner they are in talks about returning money to all nine countries that gave them government support through furlough schemes as they have suffered less than expected from the crisis. There were large queues of customers waiting to enter the IKEA store in Dublin when it reopened last week. IKEA stores are gradually reopening worldwide after most closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Irish Examiner June 16, 2020 15:11 UTC