IKEA Philippines on Thursday, November 19, said it is looking to hire 496 workers as it prepares to open its online store ahead of its physical store in the 2nd quarter of 2021.

Apart from the physical store in Pasay City, which would be the largest IKEA store to date, the Swedish firm will also open call center operations and a warehouse to support its e-commerce arm.

IKEA Philippines is looking for job candidates in sales, recovery, food, and customer service, among others. Part-timers are also welcome, it said.

Those interested to apply can visit the IKEA website.

“At IKEA, it’s all about putting ‘we’ before ‘me,’ empowering people to make decisions, and challenging the status quo,” said Georg Platzer, market development and store manager of IKEA Philippines, on what the firm is looking for.

The new employees will join the 73 people working for the firm in its Makati City office and Pasay City construction site.

The Swedish firm did not yet give exact dates for the opening of its online and physical stores.

IKEA also said 20 overseas Filipino workers who are employees in its stores abroad – primarily from the Middle East – will come home to join the operations here.

IKEA originally planned to open in the Philippines in 2020, but construction delays pushed back the opening to 2021.

The Swedish firm currently has 9 stores in Southeast Asia. – Rappler.com