Klarna AI layoffs

Timeline

1. May 14, 2025−2,000 cut
   ExplicitWalk-backFinance · SECopy link

   Not a single layoff round: CEO said AI plus a hiring freeze shrank the workforce ~40% (from about 5,000 to almost 3,000) via attrition, with its AI assistant doing the work of ~700 support agents. Days earlier he announced Klarna would hire humans back for customer service after AI delivered 'lower quality.'

   CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski (CNBC, May 14, 2025): AI helped Klarna shrink its workforce by about 40%. Walkback (Bloomberg, May 8-9, 2025): AI chat was 'lower quality'; 'it's so critical that you are clear to your customer that there will always be a human if you want.'

   Sources:

   • CNBC: Klarna CEO says AI helped company shrink workforce by 40%
   • Entrepreneur (citing Bloomberg): Klarna Is Hiring Customer Service Agents After AI Couldn't Cut It on Calls

Related companies

• ABN AMRO5,200
• Block4,000
• Commerzbank3,000
• Visa2,600
• ING950
• Coinbase700