Ikea holds hiring event at new Joliet Distribution Center

JOLIET – Ikea will hold a hiring event Wednesday at the new Joliet Distribution Center, which is scheduled to open in the summer.

Ikea is completing its 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in the Laraway Crossings Business Park, located at Route 53 and Laraway Road.

The hiring event next week will be for employees at an existing distribution center for Ikea in Minooka.

"The hiring event will be for up to 50 people," said local Ikea spokesman Kevin Hegarty.

The plan is to move all operations from the Minooka facility, operated by DSC Logistics in the Prologis building, to the Joliet center, which will be an Ikea operation, Hegarty said.

"The Minooka facility was always intended to be a temporary operation while the new Joliet distribution center is under construction," Hegarty said.

Between 250 and 300 full-time people will staff the Joliet center, he said.

The Joliet center is located at 650 Emerald Drive.

The hiring event is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Ikea is looking for full-time, permanent general warehouse workers for the 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. shift at the Minooka facility located at 501 International Parkway.

In a news release announcing the hiring event, Eric Poli, manager of the Joliet facility, said, "We look forward to meeting candidates who are down-to-earth, straightforward people who have a passion for logistics and home furnishings."

Hiring managers will conduct on-site interviews, the release said. They will discuss open positions as well as Ikea's culture and values.

Ikea in 2015 implemented a "minimum wage structure based on the local living costs instead of the cost of labor," the release said. The company in January expanded its parental leave benefit to provide up to four months of paid time off.