Buy now, pay later giant Klarna has revealed that its AI-driven efficiency gains have allowed it to nearly double employee compensation, even as it slashed its headcount by almost half over the past three years.
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski disclosed that Klarna’s workforce shrank from 5,527 in 2022 to 2,907 today, largely through natural attrition rather than layoffs. Departing roles have been replaced by technology rather than new hires, as the company leans heavily on AI to automate tasks previously handled by staff.
This shift is evident in Klarna’s internal AI program, which has cut reliance on outsourced workers, including customer service roles, with technology now performing the equivalent work of 853 full-time employees — up from 700 earlier this year.
The Swedish fintech, founded in 2005, has managed to grow revenues by 108% while keeping operating costs flat — a feat Siemiatkowski called “pretty remarkable, and unheard of as a number, among businesses” during Tuesday’s earnings call.
Klarna has not recruited new staff “for a few years,” the CEO said, but some of the cost savings have been passed on to remaining employees. Average compensation — including taxes and pension contributions — has surged 60% over the last three years.
“We have made a commitment to our employees that all of these efficiency gains, and especially the applications of AI, should also, to some degree, come back in their pay cheques so that they are fully … incentivised and aligned with the investors, to drive these changes through the company,” Siemiatkowski explained.
