Swedish furniture company Ikea on Thursday said it would suspend its operations in Russia and Belarus, in response to the war in Ukraine. Ikea is closing all its stores in Russia and pausing all its sourcing in Russia and Belarus. The company’s decision will affect nearly 15,000 employees, 17 stores and three production facilities.

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“The war has had a huge human impact already. It is also resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions. For all of these reasons, Ikea has decided to temporarily pause operations in Russia,” Brand owner Inter Ikea and store owner Ingka Group said in a joint statement to AFP.

The suspension applies mainly to Russia, where the Swedish group has been operating since 2000 and is one of the largest Western employers.

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As of August 2021, Russia was Ikea’s 10th-largest market with retail sales of 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) or 4% of total retail sales, according to a report by the Economic Times.

Operations in Belarus would also be paused, though it is mainly a sourcing market and the company has no stores in the country.

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“The devastating war in Ukraine is a human tragedy, and our deepest empathy and concerns are with the millions of people impacted,” the company said.

The stores operated by the Ingka Group employs over 12,000 people, in addition, Ikea has nearly 2,500 employees working in manufacturing, with three factories in Russia.

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The company will ensure employment, income stability and provide support to the workers and their families in the region, Ikea said in a statement to AFP.

The decision would impact 47 suppliers in Russia and 10 in Belarus, as well as put a stop to imports and exports between the two countries, as per the company.

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Before this announcement, Ikea had initially announced that it would leave its shops open in Russia, a decision received criticism in Sweden.