According to Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, artificial intelligence has reached an inflection point and technology can now perform all the tasks that humans currently do.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, is fully focused on artificial intelligence (AI). “The technology is so well developed that it can do all the work we do as humans,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.
Almost no new employees
The company known for its “buy now, pay later” services has grown from 4,500 to 3,500 employees. According to Mr. Siemiatkowski, this drop is due to a natural exodus, rather than layoffs. “As we are no longer hiring new people, we are naturally reducing our workforce,” he explains.
There are still vacancies on the website, but they are only for “essential roles”. The company is no longer actively recruiting. Remaining Klarna employees can expect a significant pay increase, thanks to the company’s lower overall salary costs.
It’s no surprise that Klarna is so focused on AI. Gartner has named artificial intelligence agents as one of the biggest technology trends of 2025. These are AI robots capable of performing repetitive tasks autonomously in order to relieve employees. According to a report by American research firm McKinsey & Company, an estimated 12 million Americans will have to change professions due to the development of AI technology. In Belgium, AI is not yet very widespread in the workplace.
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