Klarna replaces workforce with AI, CEO eyes future
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Klarna, the Swedish ‘buy now, pay later’ company, is making waves in the fintech industry with its ambitious plans to use artificial intelligence to reduce the workforce drastically.
Recently, the chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski told the Financial Times that the company’s strategy was to halve its workforce through AI-driven efficiencies.
AI-driven efficiency reshapes Klarna’s workforce
Siemiatkowski said Klarna has already shed staff from 5,000 to 3,800 over the past year.
The business is now focused on further reducing its staff, perhaps to just 2,000 employees in the next few years.
The reduction is made possible by implementing AI in various tasks, including 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 stated.
Financial performance and AI benefits
The company’s second-quarter results showed a significant improvement, with its net loss narrowing from SEK 854 million (US$83 million) a year earlier to just SEK 10 million (US$970,000).
Siemiatkowski attributed this progress to AI-driven efficiencies, noting that Klarna has boosted its average annual revenue per employee from about $400,000 to $700,000 in the past 12 months.
Klarna’s AI chatbot has already made a substantial impact, handling 2.3 million conversations in just one month, which accounts for two-thirds of the company’s total customer service inquiries.
This has allowed Klarna to reduce its reliance on outsourced customer service agents from 3,000 to just over 2,000.
Future outlook and IPO plans
As Klarna prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) as early as the first half of next year, the benefits of AI are likely to be a key selling point.
While Siemiatkowski declined to comment on specific IPO plans, he emphasized the company’s commitment to profitability and AI-driven growth.
“If I can get to a superior revenue per employee that will allow us to pay top class for the best talent, the people who are currently deep-diving and learning AI . . . The very strong message to our employees is: less total [labor] cost, higher cost per individual. I’m very happy about seeing that this is paying off,” Siemiatkowski concluded.
