Paris, June 15 (Agency) French court fined IKEA France 1 million euros ($1.2 million) on Tuesday for illegally collecting private data of hundreds of its staffers, media said. The subsidiary of the Swedish furniture chain store hired a private security firm between 2009 and 2012 to check whether there were “thieves” or “terrorists” among its employees, according to French BFM TV.
A dozen managers faced the Versailles court on Tuesday, more than eight years after French investigative journalists exposed IKEA spying on employees and clients. Former IKEA France CEO Jean-Louis Baillot was reportedly given a two-year suspended prison term and a fine of 50,000 euros. He initially faced 10 years in prison.