Home furniture manufacturer and seller IKEA Philippines is set to open a new branch in Pasay City to provide job opportunities to city residents hardly affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
Mayor Imelda Rubiano made the announcement Friday after IKEA officials paid her a courtesy call and discussed various ways on how the business firm and the local government could work together and create more opportunities for the city and its people.
“We are happy to announce that IKEA will hire at least 500 residents to become their employees for their new branch here in Pasay,” she said.
The city government stated that the new IKEA Pasay will be the biggest branch anywhere else that the world’s top home furnishing retailer has ever opened.
Mayor Rubiano said she was grateful to IKEA for choosing Pasay as one of its bases of operations, even as she expressed hope that it could be the start of the city’s full recovery and return to normalcy.
“This is a good opportunity because we know that many of our countrymen have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. They promised they would give us 500 slots to become their workers,” said Rubiano.
The city chief executive said aside from the reserved 500 slots, there are also other job openings slated for local residents.
IKEA is a Swedish multinational conglomerate that designs and sells high-quality ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances and home accessories. It was founded in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, and has been the undisputed world’s largest furniture retailer since 2008.
IKEA officials said the local branch has the potential to grow and be successful in Pasay because of its strategic and prime location. They added the city is fast becoming a center of business and development.
A1s part of its recruitment drive, IKEA will also assign to the new branch some 20 Filipino staff who worked from various stores abroad — primarily from the Middle East.
In an earlier statement, Christian Rojkjaer, Managing Director IKEA Southeast Asia and Mexico, said their vision is to create a better everyday life for as many people as possible.
“Creating meaningful, stable jobs and great workplaces is just one way that we fulfil this vision – more important than ever during these challenging times,” he said.