Pasay City Mayor Emi Caluxto-Rubiano announced on Friday that IKEA, the Swedish furniture giant, will hire 500 local residents once it starts operations in August this year.
Rubiano said she has been in discussions with IKEA officials on the various ways on how the local government and the multinational firm could work together and create more opportunities for the city and its residents.
“Malugod ko pong ipinaaabot sa ating mga kababayan ang magandang balita na magha-hire ang IKEA ng hindi bababa sa 500 residente mula sa ating lungsod para magtrabaho sa kanilang branch dito sa ating lugar,” ( I want to share to our residents the good news that IKEA will hire no less than 500 residents to work at their branch in the city), Rubiano said.
The mayor said the IKEA store in Pasay City is the biggest branch in the world.
“Magandang pagkakataon po ito sapagkat alam natin na maraming kababayan natin ang nawalan ng trabaho dahil sa pandemya, pero dahil sa pakikipag-usap natin sa IKEA ay nangako sila na ilalaan nila ang 500 posisyon para sa mga taga Pasay,” (This is a good development especially since we all know that a number of our residents lost their jobs because of the pandemic. But IKEA has promised to give us 500 slots for our city residents.) Rubiano added.
IKEA is a Swedish multinational conglomerate that designs and sells high-quality ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, and home accessories.
Rubiano said IKEA opted to open its biggest branch in Pasay City with the belief that the local branch has the potential to grow and be successful in the city because of its strategic and prime location.
She added that IKEA officials have claimed that Pasay City is fast gaining a reputation to be a very important center of business and development.
Rubiano said that aside from the reserved 500 jobs, there are also other openings for local residents to apply for.
The mayor added that as part of its recruitment drive, IKEA will also assign to the Pasay City branch some 20 Filipino staff currently working in IKEA’s various stores abroad, primarily from the Middle East.
Christian Rojkjaer, managing director of IKEA Southeast Asia and Mexico, and owner of IKEA stores in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, and Mexico said their vision is to create a better everyday life for as many people as possible.
“Creating meaningful, stable jobs and great workplaces is just one way that we fulfil this vision -- more important than ever during these challenging times, “ Rojkjaer said.
Rubiano said she is grateful to IKEA for choosing Pasay City as one of its bases of operations in the Philippines, even as she expressed hope that it could be the start of the city’s full recovery and return to normal.
“Lagi po akong nagdarasal na sana ay malutas na ang mga problema na ating kinahaharap dala ng pandemya, ( I always pray for an end to the problems brought about by this pandemic), Rubiano said.
“Kaya naman talagang napakagandang balita na tayo ay makakalikha ng trabaho para sa ating mga kababayan na maaring maging umpisa na rin ng gating tuluyang pagbangon, (This is good news so we can create more jobs and start anew),
An IKEA official said one of the reasons why they decided to open their flagship store in the city is because they trust Rubiano's leadership.