Job cuts not over at Ikea

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 7 (UPI) -- The founder of Swedish retail giant Ikea said sales at the company were running 7 percent below corporate targets and that more jobs would have to be cut.

"We need to decrease the number of staff further, particularly within manufacturing and logistic," Ingvar Kamprad told Dagens Industri, a Swedish newspaper.

A company spokeswoman confirmed the report, but said Ikea, which has already cut 5,000 positions, is maintaining its goal of opening 20 stores in 2009.

As it intends to open new stores, the retailer will also be hiring, the spokeswoman said.

Expansion plans in Russia have stalled, however, as the company pulled back from investments in the country citing "unpredictability of administrative processes," The Guardian reported.