A CEO Announced 700 Layoffs In A Pre-Recorded Video & Told Staff To Watch For An Invite

The CEO of Klarna, a Swedish payments firm, may have just one-upped Better.com when it comes to announcing mass layoffs.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski announced this week that 700 employees or about 10% of the company's staff were being laid off — and he reportedly did it by sending out a pre-recorded video with the news.

Siemiatkowski didn't say which employees would be getting the axe. Instead, he said that those affected would receive an invite to a "meeting regarding your role at Klarna."

The video hasn't been released but the transcript can be found on Klarna's website.

Employees were also told to work from home for the week so they'd have privacy in case they were laid off, reported Business Insider.

Siemiatkowski said the layoffs are necessary because of "a 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."

Klarna is an app that allows you to have the things you want instantly but provides you with a "buy now, pay later" system.

In 2021, the company had an operating loss of 6.58 billion Swedish crowns, reported the National Post, which is equivalent to about CA$854 million.

"It saddens me to say that as a result of this, approximately 10% of our colleagues and friends across all domains in the company will be impacted," said Siemiatkowski.

The cuts are expected to hit staff in both Europe and North America.

Klarna isn't the only tech company to cut staff due to losses. Companies like Netflix and Robinhood have also turned to hiring freezes and job cuts amid the instability they are facing.

In April, Robinhood cut 9% of its full-time staff, while Netflix recently cut about 150 of its employees.

"The senior leaders of Klarna have made some really tough decisions. Some of the hardest ones we have ever had to make," said Siemiatkowski.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Klarna is now seeking around $1 billion in a new round of funding.