--- title: "CEO Says He Hasn’t Hired Anyone in a Year as He Replaces Human Workers With AI" description: "The head of the \"buy now, pay later\" firm Klarna is now bragging that AI has begun to successfully replace his human workforce." date: "2024-12-14" modified: "2024-12-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/klarna-ceo-ai-replacing-workers" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai workers" - "fintech" - "klarna" - "the digest" --- # CEO Says He Hasn’t Hired Anyone in a Year as He Replaces Human Workers With AI ![The head of the "buy now, pay later" firm Klarna is now bragging that AI has begun to successfully replace his human workforce.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Gain Pain The head of the "buy now, pay later" firm Klarna is now bragging that artificial intelligence has begun to successfully replace his human workforce. In an [interview with *Bloomberg*](), Klarna CEO and founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said that he hasn't hired any new humans in a year amid the company's push to embrace AI. Since it started that push a year ago, the company lost about 22 percent of its headcount, bringing its total staff numbers to about 3,500 people, the Swedish-born CEO said. Most who left did so of their own volition, and were not replaced. Siemiatowski has [repeatedly]() [claimed]() that he told OpenAI's Sam Altman that he wants Klarna to be the AI firm's "favorite guinea pig." With OpenAI's help, Klarna launched an AI assistant that it says can [do the work of 700 humans](). ## Stunt Double The fintech founder told *Bloomberg* that he's gotten his remaining employees on board with the AI pivot — roughly 200 of whom use AI in their work — by telling them they'll see bumps in their paychecks for any productivity gains from the technology. "People internally at Klarna are just rallying to deploy as much efficiency AI as they can," Siemiatowski said. "We’re going to give some of the improvements that the efficiency that AI provides by increasing the pace at which the salaries of our employees increases." Along with providing those employee incentives — which were not spelled out, so we can't really know how much of a financial benefit Klarna workers are actually seeing or what structure those bonuses may take — Siemiatowski also has used AI to reduce some of his own workload as well, albeit in a gimmicky manner. During a recent quarterly earnings call, Klarna deployed an AI-generated version of its CEO to deliver its financial updates to its shareholders. As a video of the stunt [posted on LinkedIn shows](), the AI looks pretty sophisticated until it starts moving, developing that strange bubbling effect that many AI videos depicting humans speaking suffer from. Despite the uncanniness, it's clear from [Klarna's increased earnings last quarter]() that it's weathering the decline in headcount. That's great news for Siemiatowski — but not for his former employees, of course. **More on AI workers:** [*Godfather of AI Warns of Powerful People Who Want Humans "Replaced by Machines"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()