Ikea's Stuff is Tough To Assemble, So It Bought a Startup To Do It For You (arstechnica.com)

One of the most popular jobs on TaskRabbit, a service that lets you hire workers for quick gigs, is assembling Ikea furniture. So perhaps it's no surprise that the Swedish retail giant has acquired the startup for an undisclosed price. From a report: For now, TaskRabbit services -- where each worker sets their own rates but the company takes 20 percent -- are available in 40 American cities and in London. The majority of its American workers (or "taskers" as the company dubs them) do not receive any health or retirement benefits, as is typical in so-called "gig economy" jobs. While TaskRabbit itself has not been sued in federal court by any of its workers so far, other companies in the industry have been -- numerous labor cases filed against Uber were recently heard at the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeal in San Francisco. It seems unlikely that Swedish business culture will have any impact on TaskRabbit's workers, the overwhelming majority of whom are ad hoc contractors. Sweden, which generally lacks a similar "gig economy" environment, boasts universal public health care and housing and child care subsidies. Employees in Sweden are required to be provided a minimum of five weeks paid annual leave, and wages are typically set by annual collective bargaining. According to Ikea's statement, TaskRabbit will remain an independent company and will remain in San Francisco -- as such, its taskers aren't considered to be employees.

Comments

Re:Ikea's stuff isn't tough

[jonwil]

My current apartment is full of IKEA products (wardrobe, computer desk, kitchen table, coffee table & TV unit). All bought in early 2014 and none has failed on me and its all still in good condition.

The apartment I had before this one (where I got rid of my furniture rather than move it cross country at great expense) was full of IKEA furniture as well and that stuff never failed me in all the years I owned it (I did replace the top of a computer desk but that was only because I needed a larger one)

In terns of how much use I get out of IKEA furniture vs what I paid for it, IKEA has represented good value to me.