Klarna: AI lets us cut thousands of jobs - but pay more

Klarna - which is based in Sweden, and has two UK offices - disclosed its job-cutting plans as it announced interim results which showed it increased its revenue by 27% to 13.3 billion Swedish krona ( 990 million). "Our proven scale efficiencies have been enhanced by our investment in AI, which has driven down operating expenses and improved gross profits," it said. It comes as unions have warned of mass job losses amid the growth of AI and are calling for legislation to protect workers. Mr Siemiatkowski said Klarna would reduce its headcount through what he called "natural attrition" - effectively a hiring freeze, where staff aren't replaced after they leave. Typically this means the people that remain are left with an increased workload. But Mr Siemiatkowski contended that AI would be replacing this work, and even claimed it was a potential "positive development" for some individuals who may be paid more.