Ikea Risks Boycott in Poland After Firing Anti-LGBT Employee
A customer inside an Ikea AB store in Poznan, Poland.
Photographer: Bartek SadowskiPoland ordered prosecutors to probe Ikea of Sweden AB after its local unit fired a man over his actions during a gay-pride corporate event, while ruling-party officials mulled a boycott of the world’s largest furniture retailer.
The incident comes after Poland’s most powerful politician, governing-party boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said in the run-up to last month’s European elections that that the advancement of gay rights is a “grave danger” for Poland’s families and the future of the European Union. If confirmed by the investigation, the episode shows how foreign companies in Poland “discriminate” against those who don’t share their values, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told public television TVP Info.