Klarna cuts more jobs just months after laying off 10% of global workforce

Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant Klarna is to embark on a second round of layoffs just four months after it shed 10% of its workforce.

News of the job cuts were communicated to staff in a video call by Klarna chief operating officer (COO) Camilla Giesecke, Swedish news site SvD reports.

Addressing 500 employees, Giesecke said the BNPL firm must make further cuts to departments including IT and recruiting “to reflect the more focused nature of today’s Klarna”, according to a report by Sifted.

Klarna confirmed the new round of job cuts and says fewer than 100 employees will be affected globally.

A Klarna spokesperson says: “During the summer, we appointed a new COO, and it is natural that a new manager makes changes, which is what is happening now.

“Klarna, like all other companies, is constantly evaluating and making adjustments to the structure of its organisation.

“However, the adjustments are often small in scale compared to the major change we made this spring, which was prompted by the turbulent environment.”

In May, the company let go of approximately 10% of its global workforce due to ongoing challenging global economic conditions.

News of the latest job cuts comes two months after Klarna saw its valuation plummet after it raised $800 million in a new financing round at a $6.7 billion valuation.

The new valuation is down almost $39 billion from last year, when the company was valued at $45.6 billion following a $639 million funding round led by Japanese firm SoftBank.

Amid a global market downturn, the company said it “has not been immune to the significant downdrafts of fintech stock in public markets”.