At London’s SXSW conference, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski opened up about a surprising shift in his company’s approach to customer service—and the personal moment that sparked it.
“My wife taught me something,” he told the audience. “Two things can be true at the same time.”
He was responding to recent headlines: Klarna, known for automating tasks with AI to replace the equivalent of 700 jobs, is now hiring humans again—for a very specific reason.
Why Klarna is Rehiring Humans—But Selectively
Klarna, which had around 5,500 employees two years ago, now operates with roughly 3,000. Thanks to AI agents, the company has slashed salary costs while improving revenue per employee. Much of those savings, Siemiatkowski said, are being reinvested into employee compensation—cash and equity.
But the story doesn’t end with automation.
“We think offering human customer service is always going to be a VIP thing,” he explained.
“It’s like handmade clothing—it costs more, but it means more.”
Klarna’s vision: Let AI handle the repetitive, boring tasks—while preserving real human interaction for situations where empathy and nuance matter most.
The Future of Work at Klarna: AI + Empowered Talent
Siemiatkowski emphasized that engineering roles haven’t been cut as much as others—but he expects shifts ahead. He sees a rising class of business-minded professionals who are also learning to code—and believes they’ll become essential in a world where technical fluency meets strategic insight.
“Many engineers today aren’t business savvy,” he said.
“But when someone understands both business and code—and uses AI effectively—that’s gold.”
And he’s leading by example.
“I use ChatGPT as my personal tutor,” he admitted.
“I’ll drop a Slack thread in and ask, ‘Does this make sense?’ It helps me stay involved in technical discussions I once felt behind on.”
AI’s Dark Side: Scams and Social Trust
Despite his optimism, Siemiatkowski voiced concerns about AI-fueled scams, especially in high-trust societies like Sweden.
“AI is obviously accelerating this,” he warned, referencing recent reports of fintech scams in Singapore, where institutional trust runs high.
Why Klarna Ditched Salesforce and Workday
The CEO also explained Klarna’s decision to abandon over 1,200 small software tools, including Salesforce and Workday.
Why? Data fragmentation.
“To get one piece of client info, we had to sift through Google Suite, Slack, Salesforce, Workday… It was inefficient,” he said.
“We realized the only way forward is to consolidate data for AI.”
IPO? Maybe. EU? Hopefully.
On Klarna’s long-rumored IPO, Siemiatkowski kept things vague.
“I’m happy there’s less turbulence in the market,” he said with a grin.
But when asked what he’d change with a magic wand?
“I’d make the U.K. part of the EU again.”
The crowd erupted in applause.
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