Versailles, France — The French branch of Swedish retailing giant Ikea went on trial Monday accused of running an elaborate system to spy on staff and job applicants using private detectives and police officers.
Ikea France is being prosecuted as a corporate entity along with several of its former executives in Versailles, southwest of Paris.
Journalists uncovered the surveillance scheme in 2012 and magistrates began investigating after the Force Ouvriere (FO) union lodged a legal complaint.
Prosecutors say Ikea France collected details on hundreds of existing and prospective staff, including confidential information about criminal records, as part of a “spying system”.
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