Swedish Companies Take Advantage of Cheap Labor in US

Swedish furniture giant IKEA located a plant in
union-averse Virginia, 08/10/10. (photo: AP)

By Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov

14 January 12

s far as some companies in Sweden are concerned, America is the land of corporate opportunity - and worker exploitation. So why not take advantage of a business culture that seeks every chance to increase profits at the expense of U.S. employees.

In Virginia, furniture giant Ikea set up a manufacturing plant after it convinced the town of Danville to provide $12 million in tax breaks. It then brought in a "union-busting outfit to keep the IAM (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) from making a run at the employees," writes David Macaray at Huffington Post.

Ikea also cut employee wages and changed work and overtime rules.

"Needless to say, these measures not only would have been frowned upon by Swedish society, they would've been illegal," adds Macaray. "They would have been in violation of Sweden's federal labor laws."

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