Klarna Aims To Halve Workforce With AI-Driven Gains

Klarna aims to extend AI-driven cuts to its workforce with plans to axe almost half of its staff [non-paywalled source], as the lossmaking Swedish buy now, pay later company gears up for a stock market flotation. FT: Chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski heralded the benefits of AI in Klarna's second-quarter results on Tuesday, which showed a significant narrowing of its net loss from SKr854mn ($84mn) a year earlier to SKr10mn. The Swedish fintech has already cut its workforce from 5,000 to 3,800 in the past year. Siemiatkowski told the Financial Times that Klarna could employ as few as 2,000 employees in the coming years as it uses AI in tasks such as customer service and marketing.

'Not only can we do more with less, but we can do much more with less. Internally, we speak directionally about 2,000 [employees]. We don't want to put a specific deadline on that,' he added. Klarna has imposed a hiring freeze on workers apart from engineers and is using natural attrition rather than lay-offs to shrink its workforce. Siemiatkowski has become one of the most outspoken European tech bosses about the benefits of AI, even if it leads to lower employment, arguing that is an issue for governments to worry about. The Stockholm-based group is lining up financial advisers for its long-anticipated initial public offering -- due as early as the first half of next year -- with Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs in lead positions to secure top roles, people familiar with the matter have previously told the FT.

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