Ethics in the digital workplace
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
Klarna, a Swedish fintech company providing online payment solutions, has announced its plan to cut up to 10% of its workforce in Sweden. This equals 700 job positions. The job cuts will impact the personnel working at Klarna's office in Stockholm.
Klarna has grown rapidly during the past years but according to Wall Street Journal, its value has dropped by 30% since June 2021. Back in June 2021, its worth was estimated to be SEK 300 million (approximately €30 million).
Trade union Unionen has been critical of Klarnas's announcement. According to Unionen, they were not informed beforehand. Furthermore, five out of nine local representatives have been encouraged to quit their jobs. According to Klarna, they have asked to a part of the workforce to quit their jobs but this is not in any way connected to them being local representatives.
Klarna has 17,000 employees worldwide; 7,000 of them are located in Sweden.
Eurofound (2022), Klarna, Internal restructuring in Sweden, factsheet number 106883, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/106883.