Ikea France fined €1m for snooping on staff

A French court has ordered Ikea to pay a fine of €1m (£860,000; $1.2m) after the Swedish furniture chain was found guilty of spying on staff in France. The former CEO of Ikea France, Jean-Louis Baillot, was given a two-year suspended jail term and €50,000 fine. The French subsidiary was found to have used private detectives and police officers to collect private data on staff. Evidence came to light in 2012. Stung by the affair, Ikea fired four managers and got a new code of conduct. The 15 people in the dock at the Versailles court included top executives and former store managers. Four police officers were also on trial for handing over confidential information.(BBC)…[+]