Klarna job cuts | Video call redundancy announcements can spark outrage, but is the anger valid?

‘Buy Now Pay Later’ firm Klarna announced this week that it was cutting around 700 jobs, following months of financial struggles. The company’s CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski shared the news, which will see approximately ten per cent of the 7,000-strong workforce leave the company, via a recorded video message.

In the clip, Siemiatkowski said the “tragic and unnecessary war in Ukraine... a shift in consumer sentiment, a steep increase in inflation, a highly volatile stock market and a likely recession” were the leading factors behind the company’s “very tumultuous year”.

“It saddens me to say that as a result of this, approximately ten per cent of our colleagues and friends across all domains in the company will be impacted”, he said, later adding: “I [am] deeply saddened by seeing friends and colleagues leave. I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work and above all your contribution to Klarna and our mission.”

And while mass lay-offs will always be unwelcome news for the majority of employees, it was not the redundancy announcement itself that ran the risk of controversy, but the way in which it appeared to be communicated.