SWEDISH furnishing retailer Ikea plans to hire nearly 500 employees for its first Philippine store in Pasay City, which it said will be the largest Ikea branch in the world.
Ikea Philippines will run online operations by the second quarter next year, ahead of its physical opening at the Mall of Asia Complex.
Its local operations will include a call center and a warehouse for its ecommerce sales, Ikea Southeast Asia and Mexico said in a press release on Thursday.
The company plans to hire 496 people for a range of jobs, including sales associates, food assistants, and customer service associates, as well as part-time work. New employees will join a local team of 73 people at its Makati office and the project office in Pasay.
Ikea will also transfer 20 Overseas Filipino Workers from stores in other countries to work at the local site. The company plans to continue hiring for local positions until June 2021.
“Part-timers are treated like full-time members of the family, with all the same benefits as full-timers on a prorated basis–including health insurance, annual leave, subsidised meals and Ikea discounts,” Ikea Philippines Market Development Manager and Store Manager Georg Platzer said.
The local store was initially set to open this year, but construction delays postponed the opening to 2021.
The Philippine branch will be the retailer’s 10th store in Southeast Asia. — Jenina P. Ibanez