Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has stated that the company is expected to reduce its workforce by 1,000 employees by 2030, partly due to the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This reduction would bring the company’s total employees to less than 2,000, down from 3,000 currently and 7,000 four years ago.
Siemiatkowski made these comments on the 20 VC podcast with Harry Stebbings, where he explained that the company has been shrinking due to attrition, with employees leaving and not being replaced. He attributed this to the integration of AI, which allows for fewer employees. Despite the booming buy now, pay later (BNPL) services market, with around 30% of Americans using them and 35% planning to use them even more, Klarna is slimming down. The popularity of BNPL services is driven by their ability to allow shoppers to split purchases into interest-free installments, pay within 30 days, or opt for longer-term financing options.
Siemiatkowski’s concerns about AI are shared by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who has written about the potential dangers of AI, including loss of autonomy, misuse for destruction, and the impact on jobs. Amodei predicts that AI could remove the need for 50 percent of all white-collar entry-level jobs in the next one to five years. Siemiatkowski has echoed these concerns, stating that he is “in Dario’s camp” and expects a “very big shift” in the job market. In 2024, Klarna announced that AI could handle a growing number of jobs, leading to a reduction in size by 2,000 employees. However, this led to a dip in customer satisfaction, and the company had to reassign workers to customer support.
The company has since changed its approach to customer service, hiring human agents to handle complex and sensitive cases. A representative from Klarna stated that the company “did not lean too much into AI” and has begun to directly hire human agents to handle customer support. The reduction in size has been due to attrition, not layoffs, and the company is expected to continue to integrate AI into its operations.
The expected reduction in Klarna‘s workforce by 1,000 employees by 2030 is a significant development in the company’s history. As AI continues to advance and integrate into various industries, the impact on jobs and the workforce is likely to be substantial. Klarna‘s experience serves as a warning to other companies, highlighting the need to carefully consider the implications of AI on their operations and workforce. The company’s shift towards hiring human agents for complex customer support cases may be a sign of things to come, as companies navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI.
Leave a Reply