Klarna’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has clarified the company’s approach to hiring human workers, stating that two things can be true at the same time – that the company uses artificial intelligence to automate certain tasks, but also prioritizes human customer service. The company had previously reduced its workforce by 30% and implemented AI agents to reduce costs, but Siemiatkowski now says it wants to reinvest those savings into employee compensation.
Siemiatkowski explained that Klarna aims to balance humans and AI workers, with engineering positions seeing less reduction in staff compared to other departments. He also emphasized the value of business-savvy engineers who can leverage AI and use their knowledge to drive business growth.
The CEO has been using ChatGPT to learn coding skills and improve his understanding of data, which he believes will help Klarna become a better company. However, Siemiatkowski is also aware of the challenges posed by AI, including an increase in scams that can impact high-trust societies like Sweden.
Klarna’s decision to stop using Salesforce and Workday was driven by the need to consolidate its data into a system that can be easily fed into AI. The company has reduced its reliance on small software services to around 1,200.
When asked about the pending IPO, Siemiatkowski remained noncommittal but acknowledged that there is less turbulence in the market. If he had a magic wand, he would make the UK part of the EU again, sparking applause from the crowd.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/04/klarna-ceo-says-company-will-use-humans-to-offer-vip-customer-service