Klarna Institutes Hiring Freeze, Cites AI Productivity Gains

CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski expects company to shrink over time, plans to build more consumer-facing AI features.

Klarna, the Swedish fintech company, has instituted a hiring freeze, citing the rise of AI and its potential productivity gains.
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski stated that the company is not planning layoffs, but expects the company to shrink over time as people depart voluntarily.
Siemiatkowski did not specify which roles might be replaced by AI, but expressed hopes to build more consumer-facing AI features.
Other companies, including IBM and Dropbox, have also paused hiring for roles they believe could be replaced by AI in the future.
AI-powered tools like ChatGPT have raised concerns about job replacement across various industries.