Klarna has not relaxed in the AI era. As there are fewer people on board, they are running at it. Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski revealed on Wednesday that the company had cut its workforce by about 40% due to AI adoption and natural attrition.
The Swedish fintech giant said the workforce has shrunk from about 5,500 employees to just over 3,400, cutting by around 40%. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski did not sugarcoat in an interview with CNBC.
“The truth is, the company has now reduced from around 5,000 employees to nearly 3,000 employees. If you go to LinkedIn and see the work, you can see how we are shrinking.”
Klarna replaces 700 workers with AI when the company cuts its workforce by 40%
The drop didn’t happen overnight. Klarna is actively deploying AI tools throughout operations, and the results are already shown. The company partnered with OpenAI in 2023 and launched an AI Customer Service Assistant, reportedly working for 700 former human agents a year later. “Klarna CEO says that AI helped the company shrink its workforce by 40%,” CNBC reported.
To drive the points, Klarna used an AI-generated version of Siemiatkowski to announce its Q3 revenue last year. This is a visual reminder of the number of roles that can now be automated.
Ai that replaces humans
As AI becomes more capable, some wonder whether humanity is being replaced or remembered.
Klarna is not alone. The internet was surprised after Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke confirmed on social media last month that an internal memo leaked that the company said “we have to hire AI before we can hire people.”
While AI was in the spotlight, the company also relied on natural wear and tear. Klarna halted employment in 2023 and instead reduced its workforce when people left. “We simply told our employees what we were trying to do was to cut back so we’re going to stop hiring,” Siemiatkowski said. “The natural attrition of companies like us is 15-20% per year. So we naturally shrink 15-20% by those leaving.”
However, adopting freezes was not accurately consistent. TechCrunch previously reported that Klarna continued to post new openings even after the freeze was announced. At the moment, there are still around ten open roles, mainly in Europe.
Klarna says this isn’t just an AI that replaces humans. But the company has been very vocal about the productivity gains it sees. This is one of the few high-tech companies that pay upfront for how widespread AI adoption looks within the company, and it’s not subtle.
Is this just the beginning? In March, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned that AI could replace most human jobs, including doctors and teachers, within the next decade.
Still, it’s not a complete AI acquisition yet. Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg last week that Klarna was considering bringing more human customer service reps back. This time we’ll be talking about “Uber type setup.” He admitted that the AI-ONLY model led to a decline in quality.
Meanwhile, Klarna’s IPO plan is available in Limbo. After filing the prospectus in March, Klarna put the offer on hold amidst market unrest caused by President Trump’s tariff announcement in April. Other companies like StubHub and Etoro will also be suspended. However, once IPO activity backs up, Etro has just debuted, and chimes and hinges health is on the deck. Klarna could soon return to the table.
But there is no timeline yet. For now, the company is leaning hard towards AI and light on humans.
Klarna says AI is currently handling the work of 700 customer service agents. message? Pack your luggage.
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