Ikea France Fined 1 Million Euros For Spying

Ikea France Fined 1 Million Euros For Spying.

Ikea France have been fined a staggering 1 million euros for spying on staff and even on some customers.

The scandal started around a decade ago but on Tuesday a court in France ordered the French subsidiary of IKEA to pay a staggering 1 million euro fine after it was found that the company had spied on not only hundreds of employees, but also on some customers too.

Both suspended prison sentences and fines have been handed out to former Ikea France executives. Although IKEA France had denied claims of espionage the court discovered that the French subsidiary illegally used surveillance measures on its staff and customers.

The Versailles court discovered that between 2009 and 2012 Ikea France had spied on staff who it considered to be troublemakers, and also on customers that had disputes with the company too.

The issue came to the surface when trade unions accused the branch of targeting union activists and using staff’s personal data which the company had collected illegally. They also claim that the company had paid to access police files of certain members of staff.

French prosecutors began an investigation in 2012 and numerous executives were fired and policies were changed.

Jean-Francois Paris who was in charge of risk management at the time of the espionage has been fined €10,000 and hit with an 18 month suspended sentence. Former Ikea France CEO Jean-Louis Baillot was find a sum of €50,000 and received a two-year suspended sentence.

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