Ikea France in the dock for spying on staff

VERSAILLES • The French branch of Swedish retailing giant Ikea was due to go on trial yesterday, accused of running an elaborate system to spy on staff and job applicants using private detectives and police officers.

Ikea France, as a corporate entity, will be in the dock, as well as several of its former executives who risk prison terms.

French investigative publications Le Canard Enchaine and Mediapart uncovered the surveillance scheme in 2012, and prosecutors got on the case after the Force Ouvriere union lodged a legal complaint.

Prosecutors say Ikea France set up a "spying system" in its operations across the country, collecting information about the private lives of hundreds of staff and prospective staff, including confidential information about criminal records.

Since the media revelations broke, the company has sacked four executives, but Ikea France, which employs 10,000 people, still faces a fine of up to €3.75 million (S$6 million).

The 15 people also appearing before the court in Versailles near Paris include former store managers and top executives like former chief executive Stefan Vanoverbeke and his predecessor Jean-Louis Baillot. They also include four police officers accused of handing over confidential information.

The charges include illegal gathering of personal information, receiving illegally gathered personal information, and violating professional confidentiality, some of which carry a maximum prison term of 10 years.

At the heart of the system is Jean-Francois Paris, Ikea France's former director of risk management. Prosecutors say he regularly sent lists of names to be investigated to private investigators, whose combined annual bill could run up to €600,000, according to court papers seen by Agence France-Presse.

The court is investigating Ikea's practices between 2009 and 2012, but prosecutors say they started nearly a decade earlier.

Among their targets was a staff member in Bordeaux "who used to be a model employee, but has suddenly become a protester", according to an e-mail sent by Paris. "We want to know how that change happened," he said, wondering whether there might be "a risk of eco-terrorism".

Mr Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer for Ikea France, acknowledged that the case had revealed "organisational weaknesses" at Ikea France.

He said it had since implemented an action plan, including a complete revamp of hiring procedures. "Whatever the court rules, the company has already been punished very severely in terms of its reputation," he said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE