Klarna CEO reveals plan to reduce workforce by 50% and replace it with AI | Mashable.

Klarna CEO reveals plan to reduce workforce by 50% and replace it with AI

At least Sebastian Siemiatkowski is upfront about replacing people with AI.
By Matthews Martins on 
Siemiatkowski has not been shy about his love of AI. Credit: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Comments

  1. AI to CEO: Start by replacing the CEO.

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  2. The online customer experience for most companies is already an unmitigated disaster. And they are clueless. Keep saving money until all your customers disappear. Poof!

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  3. I can’t WAIT until these AIs get hacked and all that money they “saved” get deposited or destroyed by their own selfish stupidity

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  4. I don't have a clue what Klarna is, but the obvious jobs to replace with AI would be all of the Cs (CEO, CFO, COO, etc), most likely all of the VPs, and most of upper management. It's hard to imagine a computer, even an old z80, that could be dumber than most executives.

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  5. Why not replace *him* with a human being?

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  6. Good luck with that! The usefulness of ai has been greatly exaggerated

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  7. and it’ll be this moment in time we can attribute to their eventual demise

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  8. Wonderful news! More people out of work! I will NEVER use Klarna!

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  9. Too bad I liked Klarna

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  10. they are so desperate

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  11. Your down payment dollars at AI work

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  12. Well duh ! Give it another 5 years and most companies will follow . Also super markets , stores ….humans will be replaced .

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  13. I won’t be using the app anymore🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️😎

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  14. It's about time they fired everyone

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  15. Can't AI do this cvnt's CEO job?

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  16. Klarna CEO reveals plan to reduce workforce by 50% and replace it with AI

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  17. Elo, a u was jeszcze żywi ludzie pracują?

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    Replies
    1. A może kompromis: martwi w środku..

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  18. sample review "Waste of time"
    What do you like best about Klarna?
    Nothing! There is no easy way to speak or chat with someone! It takes you to your dashboard but not to the chat box to actually speak with someone, I had to Google the customer service number smh

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  19. "In 2022, as Klarna was experiencing financial difficulty, Siemiatkowski posted a list of employees who were recently dismissed by the company. This unusual course of action was considered as tone deaf by commentators.

    The company is a "buy now, pay later" service provider.["

    Real swell guy.

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    1. Seems there's a lot of real swell guys running things these days.

      It's unfortunate because it truly highlights an ineptitude in leadership.

      Clearly.. clearly if a man started a company producing a decent enough product or service and that company only moved minimum profit to shareholders and instead invested the bulk of their profit into the livelihoods of their employees, the company would be immediately successful.

      Said differently, if you invest in yourself, your total value over time is higher than if you don't.

      So this trend in America is self-destructive and any intellectual or vaguely wise person worth their salt can clearly see it.

      These companies are consuming themselves because of bad behavior and bad leadership. It's just a matter of how much time it takes for the snake to eat itself.

      It's just ineptitude over time, honestly, and the curse of humanity is that companies live longer than we do. Some of them even seem immortal. Immortal, life sucking beings. Vam.. no. Surely not..

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    2. I’ve had professional interactions with this guy. Can attest, really swell guy indeed.

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    3. How dare you suggest the Costco model! Dirty socialist thinker.

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    4. Costco still sucks even if they treat their employees ok. Also it's still a job at Costco.

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    5. "would be immediately successful"

      I’m not sure this analysis recognizes the reality of what can make tech companies “successful” these days. Given the competitive landscape, I think we’ve fallen into a trap where there isn’t really a path to just “making a good product and driving a profit quickly” that a company can just sustain without catering so much of their decision making to investors.

      I feel like klarna is a good case study - yes they’ve scaled a ton but on the back of cash infusions they wouldn’t have had unless they could eventually deliver huge scale and/or a strong IPO, and a strong IPO comes from being able to potentially deliver on strong future investment potential. It’s the golden handcuffs of tech startups now.

      If they weren’t building strategies to prioritize investors in the mid/long run, then they wouldn’t even be able to get to the scale to be profitable in a sustainable way (where they won’t then get crushed by an investor backed/biased competitor).

      So it’s not that the leaders of these companies are inept (though some of course are) - it’s not a bug it’s a feature. This is exactly the type of leadership and company that can be “successful” in the modern era, because it’s a byproduct of its environment. The alt universe version of klarna run by the ideal leader you’re describing doesn’t exist - it never made it to this point.

      Just look at the headlines, they’re about revenue per employee being way up, driving a tiny profit (kind of) vs huge losses last year, and all the focus is on the IPO potentially around the corner. That’s the narrative, because that’s how success is being defined.

      I get you’re calling it out, that the definition of “success” through the investor alone is a massive problem, but the types of leaders we see are a symptom of that problem. “Better” leaders won’t fix the problem, they’ll just lose because they aren’t playing the game. The question is how the game is changed, not who the coaches should be.

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    6. Yeah. Calling that out exactly because almost everything you've said seems to be in the spirit of "wait let's think about investors" but that is the problem.

      Nothing operates for the consumer anymore. It used to. I'm old enough to say for certain that it genuinely used to operate for us. It no longer does.

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    7. "...and there was this silly thing where some of our employees had created a google sheet where they advertised and said anyone can put themselves on this list [...] people started doing that and I wanted to help out and promote, because they wanted to promote that list like 'these are people available for jobs', and I put it out on LinkedIn and the press was hammering me for why I'm exposing people being laid off and was insensitive, things like that happening." - Sebastian Siemiatkowski

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  20. A buy now pay later service isn't using "AI" although it's going say AU to cover for any financial issues that the company faces.

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    1. Exactly this kind of business model is facing headwinds these days

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    2. Middle class gutted, no more money to buy toy shit.

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    3. Or groceries sometimes :(

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    4. That and MasterCard and Visa are doing this themselves now. There's no incentive to go to a third party if they can do it

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    5. Yep, even banks are getting their asses together finally and offering it (though it’d help if their branding wasn’t stupid).

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  21. CEOs should be the first to be replaced by AI. I mean, an AI is probably much better at planning and putting the company first than a human, right?

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  22. lol. Lying to cover the real reason they are cutting staff.

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  23. Blaming their shit business on everything else but themselves.

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  24. Yeah right good luck with that. Seems like a ploy for more money.

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  25. When are board members going to realize that they can also save a buck by having Ai as their CEO?

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  26. Great. So they’re eliminating half the workforce…are they gonna keep paying them? Because half a population without jobs is going to lead to mass poverty, that’s going to lead to mass hysteria and an absurd drop in sales, which will make the entire global economy completely collapse. Funny how these “brilliant minds” can come up with everything except common sense.

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    1. We all work for klarna

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    2. They are increasing the pay of the remaining employees:

      “If I can get to a superior revenue per employee that will allow us to pay top class for the best talent, the people who are currently deep-diving and learning AI . . . The very strong message to our employees is: less total labour cost, higher cost per individual. I’m very happy about seeing that this is paying off,” Siemiatkowski said."

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    3. It’s a sinking ship, AI is just the story sold to investors

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    4. This 100%, total smokescreen here

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  27. Buy now pay later companies are a huge cancer on society.

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  28. It’s more realistic to cut some of the expensive higher echelon because all AI does convincingly is throw words.

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  29. In the previous company I worked for, the CEO announced plans to make the majority of the office support staff, receptionists, admin etc redundant and replace them with AI by 2025. That obviously didn’t go down well with staff and people started quitting, those who couldn’t quit “quiet quit”, there were little acts of micro-sabotage going on every day. The business crashed and burned, and so it should have.

    These idiots are so tone deaf. They only care about impressing investors. They don’t give a shit about their workers, if anything, they see the workers as an inconvenience to get rid of.

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  30. They will choke on their own tails as we starve.

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  31. What’s Klarna? Who cares ?

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  32. How do all these companies plan on making money in the future after all their customer’s jobs have been replaced by AI? 🤦🏻‍♂️

    The real savings is in reducing these outrageous C-Suite salaries. These executives don’t realize they will no longer be needed either when there is little left to manage based on their current predictions/trajectory. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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  33. This guy who works in AI once confidently told me that fears of AI replacing workers was overblown but I am starting to think that maybe he was in fact an idiot.

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  34. Ironically, the company will be paying later.

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  35. This is the way the world ends.

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  36. I’m trying to figure out how to use AI to block Klarna cancer on every online purchase.

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  37. I can’t wait for the great Ai crash and subsequent Ai wars

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  38. Such a disgusting company too. They should be outlawed.

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  39. Yeah sure, is he actually replacing someone with ai? Or is it the perfect excuse to just lay off half of your staff because your business model is crap?

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  40. He is a CEO, and he has money. Whoever is saying he can't or that he won't, should think again, he is more dangerous than we imagine, a weird person with a lot of money!

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  41. Horrible. The best thing is when I see AI marketing platforms looking for marketers to run their marketing. If the platform was good enough, they wouldn’t needed it.

    I’ve had platforms reaching out asking me to test their software for marketing & strategy. It’s beyond basic. Doesn’t even touch the surface.

    Nothing is more creative than a human brain.

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  42. Who’s surprised…this has been a priority by businesses for years! Self checkouts, kiosks at fast food, automobile companies and more

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  43. Them: "AI won't replace human workers"
    AI: okay

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  44. use those phones to pay, and lose your freedoms. the few you have left

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  45. Have you ever used A1 to answer questions… most frustrating time ever…

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  46. Time to boycott them

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  47. The customer service people he’s talking about are most likely working in call centers in India.

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    1. regardless they are PEOPLE and we all need JOBS.

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  48. They deserve all the bad things

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  49. It's about time consumers start deciding to patronize businesses based on the size of their workforce and the number of employees they don't fire during layoffs.

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  50. This is simple … STOP USING THEIR SERVICE! There are plenty of other by now pay later companies that don’t have these idiotic plans. Let them learn Crater them

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  51. All his workers should quit now

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  52. So he can start paying higher tax rates to support the country paying for unemployment benefits

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  53. Makes sense, company is mostly online, does not require staff

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  54. When will these AI companies just replace the CEOs? That huge salary is a massive drain

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    1. To whom? Peasants should stop being concerned about other people salaries

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    2. to the employees who don’t get decent wages and shareholders, that’s who

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    3. ok clown show, time for the hook. 👋🏼

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  55. Fantastic 😎👏🍻

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  56. Hate kiosks. I remember years ago banks tried to go to truly automated even at teller drive through windows. That didn’t last. There was even talk at one time to have teachers completely replaced by computer aided programs. People want to talk to people. Even if it is text related- I want to interact with a person-not a machine.

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    1. pretty sure that’s the worst example ever… vast majority of banking now on line or at automatic telling machines 😂

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    2. Nope don’t agree. Dealing with customer service AI is maddening. I’ve had to deal with issues on certain platforms that took days to fix. Talking to a person would have fixed it quickly. Banking on line is over rated especially when something goes wrong. ATM’s break, take your card and charge fees if you are out of network. Automation is great until it isn’t.

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    3. I totally agree, that A1 over the phone or online is BEYOND USELESS..
      However banking ( and I am ex staff) have amazing tech that is not A1…

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    4. I prefer machines. No mood swings and no grumpy days. 🤣 Always accurate.

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  57. Replies
    1. I believe that all technology should help us and reduce work, however it is a tool that makes us work more or replaces us.

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  58. Note to self. Never ever use this. ✔️

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  59. Down size the CEO first

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  60. At least they are being honest I suppose, all the big companies are doing the same thing but pretending it's still from over expanding during the pandemic

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  61. The best job for AI is CEO

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  62. Well, we can also do more if ppl use it less...spread the word, we're gonna start a revolution! Also, maybe now's the time skynet takes over and wrecks the economy! That'll be good for most credit scores...

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  63. Imagine being a worker of this company and read this.

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  64. Time to change my site to After Pay lol

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  65. Time will come when CEO's will be replaced by AI too, unfortunately that time will be no people left on earth...

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  66. Short sighted moves like this will create dependency on Ai which will inevitably sow the seeds of the businesses downfall. Ai needs to human generated data sets in order to improve and when that resource has been fully exploited (which is already close to happening) more and more data will be Ai generated which causes results to degrade (like making a copy of a copy of a copy). The resources used to operate Ai (energy, data storage, etc) are also massive and are currently subsidized by speculative capital. Once it comes time for Ai companies to actually make money and turn a profit, the costs will go up for users (and businesses like Klarna) who will, by then, be dependent upon it. Consolidation in the industry will also occur such that 2-3 major players will control the market allowing them to fix prices. I can say all of this confidently because the same thing has happened in multiple industries such as agriculture, telecommunications, etc. One day we will look back at how “good” we had it now before we sold our yet another piece of our humanity, of our soul, to the worship of false profits.

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  67. How very “Un Swedish” of him to be so careless with people’s lives and livelihood.

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  68. I can already see “human employee quotas”

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  69. Klarna’s CEO is betting big on AI by cutting the workforce in half and shifting tasks to machines. It’s a bold move, but relying on AI could backfire if history is any guide. Here’s hoping it pays off!

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  70. For starters, he’s immoral and I’ll never do business with his company.

    But secondly, he’s clearly not a software engineer. Generative AI is NOT ready to fully replace customer service.

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  71. How many cars will AI buy? Rent or own how many homes? What will AI grocery bills look like? How many pairs of shoes, socks, underwear, slacks will AI purchase in a year? Which are AI's favorite cable companies, internet providers, laptop and tablet ⁰brands? What's AI's favorite desk chair? Purchased at which office store?
    Where will AI buy their tools, mulch, lightbulbs, big buckets, moldings, paint and brushes, overhead fans? Lowes or Home Depot or Joe's Hardware on Main Street?
    Oops, no need for a Main St. No pharmacy, no dress shop, no restaurants, no pizza joints, no framing shops, no shoe stores, no general merchandise stores, no hobby and craft shops.
    Only the liquor stores and bars survive.

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  72. Hopefully all of them will resign tomorrow - and then the company will be out of business not long after.
    Of course they won't and so the exploitation and the hire & fire mentality will just go on like it always does.

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  73. 50 percent employee starts their own klarna. Compete

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  74. Another reason to never do business with them

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  75. Where does he think he will get the electricity? Googles electricity use foot print has gone up 30% from AI, after they pledged to reduce it. It ain't free, it sucks ten dollar bills out of the outta the grid by the second!

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  76. What happens when AI complains about the working conditions it is forced to endure? It gets replaced with the newest software release.

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  77. That says find a job that can’t be AI’ed

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  78. I hope that includes replacing him as well. He's certainly not needed either.

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  79. Well. What we should do is boycott the use. I'll stop today.

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  80. How much money does that get him in 5 years? I suspect that's why he's doing it.

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    1. of course, it’s a business not a charity

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    2. The part I left out. 5 years does not mean he cares about 10 years. The company could fold because of his choices today, but just so long as he hit the mark at 5 years, he's all good.

      Take the money and run.

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  81. Great idea He should be the first in line. Imagine the Millions of dollars the company would save.

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  82. Dude might black ban your products perhaps

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  83. I too am planning to reduce my workforce by 50% however, I am planning to use IA (Illegal Aliens)

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  84. So why we need AI if replacing us. Make a world for AI separate and leave the humans alone. Practically the technology and science make the things worse not better. The cause of those is increasing the population by spreading the technology. The population explode in number, producing a catastrophic quantity of garbage and toxic materials specially in places with less education. The peoples in general reduce the level of intelligence, the gift creation practically disappear. The little progress in medical science is only used exclusively by the rich peoples. The protocols reduce very much the doctors levels of competence, they don't know what they suppose to know anymore . Where are we going with all these? We don't use the brain so we are not smart anymore.

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  85. Why not do it the other way around? One A*hole losing his job as opposed to hundreds of honest people sounds preferable to me... https://www.thegamer.com/netdragon-websoft-chinese.../

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  86. Klarna's chief executive saw his pay soar to over £1million last year as the company racked up its biggest ever loss.

    Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the founder and chief executive of the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) firm, was handed £1.05million in 2022 – a 35 per cent jump on the previous year.

    That's all you need to know tbh.
    The guy is just pumping up his value with this AI rush to investors.

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  87. 50% of menial jobs will be taken over by AI by 2035.

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  88. KEEP PUSHING AI AND END HUMANITY FASTER ! FOOLS !

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  89. Good luck with that 🤣 and just tell you are investing in AI stocks and company right now AI is not having the capacity to solve any problems

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  90. It’s already outsourced anyway to some third world country

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  91. Oh, man, he's so edgy!
    What a 21st entrepreneur!
    America is back, baby!
    Harris/Trump 2024!

    Ugh, Effin boot lickers 👢👅

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  92. This should surprise nobody.

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  93. It’s a smart move. Why not replace them? Same profit. Less costs. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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  94. Well, that's one way to implement an involuntary hiring freeze. Who's going to want to go working for these guys now?

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  95. He won’t have enough electricity, it takes a lot of energy

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  96. Pretty soon the entire population will be unemployed. Way to go, CEO'S😡😡

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  97. I followed every instructions sometimes don’t always listen to friends, listen to your instincts that tells you to give it a try. I did mine and this has given me proof that this platform is legitimate, I’ll keep telling people about your good works in my life Thank you sir @MathewAkim

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  98. All these tech companies are doing is disrupting ways for humans to work and connect with each other. They will always choose a dollar over an employee. Numbers over people. That’s their motto.

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  99. #hr #ceo #klarnapayments #AI

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  100. What even is klarna? Regardless, it's fascinating seeing that boycotts this year have really been working wonders, yet so many are complaining about ai and still supporting companies using it.
    Make it make sense

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    Replies
    1. I’m SO tired of AI customer service. Connect me to a person!

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    2. you and me both. I don't even bother with it anymore if I'm not talking to a person. They can deal with the horrible review because it was entirely avoidable but they chose to make resolution more difficult than it needed to be.

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    3. This is going to backfire on them big time.

      Klarna is one of the pay-in-installments at checkout type of lenders. As if they're not already making enough profit off the 30% interest rate that's typical for these. 🙄

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    4. that's a ridiculous amount of interest. Yeah that's going to bite them. Hard.

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  101. I love it love it love it

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