BigPicture

BIG PICTURE

AI enables Klarna to cut thousands of jobs –­ but pay more

Image: Getty

WHAT?

Buy-now pay-later firm Klarna is seeking to get rid of almost half its employees in the coming years through efficiencies it says arise out of its investment in artificial intelligence (AI).

WHY?

Boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski said that AI would be replacing the work previously done by staff who would be leaving, and even claimed it was a potential “positive development” for some individuals who may be paid more.

HOW?

The firm has already cut its workforce from 5,000 to 3,800 in the past year and wants to reduce that to 2,000 by using AI in marketing and customer service.

Valuation Icon: A bar chart trending upwards with an arrow pointing the way up. One column is labelled with dollar signs

$46bn

Klarna’s peak valuation in 2021 after a funding round led by Softbank.

Source: Bloomberg

85%

The portion of Klarna’s value lost in 2022 as a result of a surge in interest rates and an industry-wide re-rating of tech firms.

Source: The Guardian

Valuation icon: A signpost with a dollar sign at the top pointing the way to Wall St

$14.3bn

(£11.3bn) Klarna’s current valuation ahead of its mooted IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Source: Dealroom

The Association of Accounting Technicians. 30 Churchill Place, London E14 5RE Registered charity no.1050724. A company limited by guarantee (No. 1518983).

Back to the top
Back to the contents
Back to section