Ikea ordered to pay $1.3 million fine for spying on French employees
Ikea was fined $1.3 million on Tuesday for spying on its French workers — and two of the furniture retailer’s former executives were convicted over the creepy operation.
A panel of judges at the Versailles court ruled that between
2009 and 2012, Ikea’s French subsidiary spied to uncover troublesome workers
and profile displeased customers.
The home furnishings giant was found to have improperly
gathered and stored data on its employees.
Trade unions alleged that Ikea France shelled out money for
access to police files that had information about targeted people, namely union
activists and customers who were in disputes with the store.
Ikea France lawyers denied that the company had any strategy
of “generalized espionage.”
Jean-François Paris, the former executive in charge of risk
management at the time, admitted to the alleged illegal sleuthing.
Paris was fined $12,125 and handed down a 18-month suspended
sentence.
Former Ikea France CEO Jean-Louis Baillot denied ordering
such a spy operation. He was found guilty of receiving illegally obtained data,
fined $60,626 and given a two-year suspended license.
Thirteen other defendants in the trial were also given
suspended licenses or acquitted.
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