Ikea has taken further steps to outsource its information technology (IT) operations by awarding contracts to Capgemini, HCL and IBM. According to Swedish press reports, the deals are worth approximately $237 million.
“I’m very happy with the whole solution for IKEA and the affected employees,” says Monica Skagne, manager of IT for IKEA. “We have chosen the major global and professional IT companies that have gone through the eye of the needle in terms of quality and delivery capabilities.”
Capgemini and IBM will take over the company’s IT staff in November. By May 2012, all three suppliers will take over the business entirely.
IKEA made the decision to outsource in order to have a more flexible IT workforce in September last year. At the time, the company employed 1,300 IT staff in the U.S., Sweden, Germany, France and China. Outsourcing is expected to affect 700 of those employees, with 400 of them likely to be offered roles at the suppliers.
