#Ikea ordered to pay $1.3M fine for spying on French employees

Ikea was fined $1.3 million on Tuesday for spying on its French workers — and two of the furniture retailer’s former executives were convicted over the creepy operation.

A panel of judges at the Versailles court ruled that between 2009 and 2012, Ikea’s French subsidiary spied to uncover troublesome workers and profile displeased customers.

The home furnishings giant was found to have improperly gathered and stored data on its employees.

Trade unions alleged that Ikea France shelled out money for access to police files that had information about targeted people, namely union activists and customers who were in disputes with the store.

Ikea France lawyers denied that the company had any strategy of “generalized espionage.”

Jean-François Paris, the former executive in charge of risk management at the time, admitted to the alleged illegal sleuthing.

Paris was fined $12,125 and handed down a 18-month suspended sentence.

Former Ikea France CEO Jean-Louis Baillot denied ordering such a spy operation. He was found guilty of receiving illegally obtained data, fined $60,626 and given a two-year suspended license.

Thirteen other defendants in the trial were also given suspended licenses or acquitted.

With Post wires