Klarna criticized for job cuts

Dusseldorf “They hire without proper planning and then throw employees away like garbage,” complains a Klarna employee in the messenger service Telegram. A colleague replies that he only started working for the Swedish payment service provider a few days ago and now that he has to expect an offer to terminate the contract is a shock.

Klarna boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski announced via video last week that he would have to part with around ten percent of his around 7,000 “colleagues and friends” from various areas of the company. It is still unclear who exactly will be affected by the job cuts at Europe’s most valuable start-up. This condition, in turn, forces another person affected to comment on Telegram: “My heart stops every time I receive an email.”

Klarna’s announcement caused a stir across Europe. She came after steady growth including a strong increase in personnel, which was surprisingly sudden for some. But it also sheds light on the sometimes less than sensitive handling of staff among founders.