Klarna
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski aggressively replaced ~700 customer service workers with AI via OpenAI partnership, boasting the AI did the work of 700 people. After customer satisfaction scores dropped and service quality deteriorated, Klarna reversed course in 2025 and began rehiring human agents, with Siemiatkowski admitting "cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor."
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Klarna — AI Ethics: MIXED CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski aggressively replaced ~700 customer service workers with AI via OpenAI partnership, boasting the AI did the work of 700 people. After customer satisf… https://reciepts.tech/stance/1278
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See all →Klarna adopted an "Uber-style" flexible workforce model after its AI customer service experiment failed, actively hiring remote agents — students, parents, and rural workers — with flexible schedules for on-demand support. The company's global footprint and hiring from previously underserved labor pools reflects continued remote-first recruitment.
Cut workforce from ~5,000 to ~3,000 employees between 2022 and 2024, eliminating ~700 customer service roles replaced by an OpenAI-powered AI assistant. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski froze hiring for over a year citing AI capacity. By early 2025, customer satisfaction dropped and Klarna admitted AI had gone "too far," beginning to rehire human staff. Reframed as AI augmentation after initial full-replacement experiment backfired.