Photo: FLLewis/Media City G — IKEA store at 600 North San Fernando Boulevard in Downtown Burbank June 27, 2014
Many of the more than 300 employees at the IKEA in Burbank will be getting a raise as part of a new company policy.Yesterday, the Swedish furniture giant announced it will adopt a new minimum hourly wage structure for its U.S. hourly retail workers.
Beginning in January of next year, the minimum average hourly wage will jump 17 percent to an average of $10.76 an hour. That is $3.51 above the current federal minimum wage. The increase will impact approximately 50% of the 11,000 or so employees in the company’s U.S. division. The amount of the employee raises will depend on the cost of living in each store location.
“The transition to the new minimum hourly wage structure is not only the right thing to do, it makes good business sense. We are basing our wages on our co-workers and their needs, rather than what the local employment market dictates. Our focus is to ensure that IKEA is a great place to work by providing an environment that develops our co-workers and also meets our customers’ expectations. All of this contributes to our business success,” said Rob Olson, IKEA US Acting President and CFO in an announcement posted on the company website.
IKEA has a huge presence in the Media City. The current store is 242,000 square feet at 600 North San Fernando Boulevard in downtown. Plans are in the works for the construction of a new store, nearly double the size at 470,000 square feet, about a mile away at 805 South San Fernando Boulevard. The 22 acre site is now the home of the Western Studio Center.
Photo: FLLewis/ Media City G — Proposed site of the new IKEA megastore 805 South San Fernando Boulevard Burbank March 6, 2014
The new store will be the largest IKEA in the nation. The project will reportedly create 500 to 1,000 construction jobs. Undoubtedly, the new store will have an increase in staffing over the current location, which means even more local jobs. The new store is expected to open in summer 2016.
