Ikea has been fined one million euros in France.
A court in Versailles found the Swedish furniture company guilty on Tuesday of spying on hundreds of employees for years.
The former CEO in France, Jean-Louis Baillot, was sentenced to two years probation for ordering the spying system.
In addition, he should pay a fine of 50,000 euros.
The Versailles criminal court found Ikea guilty of "fraudulently collecting personal information".
The prosecution had seen a case of "mass surveillance".
She therefore demanded a fine of two million euros for Ikea and three years in prison for the former CEO, two of which were on probation.
A victim's lawyer had even accused Ikea of regular "Stasi" methods.
Between 2009 and 2012, according to the investigators, Ikea collected confidential information about almost 400 employees and applicants, for example about possible criminal records.
The company hired private detectives and even police officers to do this.
The scandal came to light in 2012 through media revelations.
As one of the plaintiffs in the trial, trade unionist Adel Amara said he was “satisfied” with the verdict, but called the sentence “a little mild”. The former CEO Baillot reacted "shocked", as his lawyer announced. The ex-manager is therefore examining appeals against the judgment.