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Tag: Disruption

  • Klarna’s CEO agrees with Dario Amodei. He thinks his white-collar workforce will shrink by a third by 2030 | Fortune

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    As AI spells doom for white-collar jobs, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski is providing a transparent look at how his company is shrinking its workforce in real time. 

    While about 40% of employers expect to cut their workforces in response to AI automating tasks, how much is an open question. Siemiatkowski expects his workforce to decrease from 3,000 to fewer than 2,000 by 2030, but he doesn’t foresee any layoffs, he recently said on the “20 VC” podcast hosted by venture capitalist Harry Stebbing. 

    Rather, Klarna is relying on “natural attrition” of about 20% each year, he said, adding that employees spend an average of five years at the company before leaving. 

    “The reason for that is because I’ve seen the acceleration of AI, and I know we can ship all these things on the existing organization,” Siemiatkowski said. 

    Klarna launched an OpenAI-powered customer service chatbot in early 2024 that the company claims can do the work equivalent of 800 full-time agents. The “buy now, pay later” platform debuted on the NYSE last September with a $1.37 billion IPO and was valued at $15 billion at the time. The company’s stock price has fallen about 59% since its IPO.  

    Klarna has more than halved its workforce since 2022, going from more than 7,000 employees to less than 3,000. Siemiatkowski previously said that he believes that AI is capable of doing all jobs, including his own. 

    “I am not necessarily super excited about this,” he previously wrote on X. “On the contrary, my work to me is a super important part of who I am, and realizing it might become unnecessary is gloomy.” 

    The future of the workforce

    Siemiatkowski has previously called out other “tech bros” for not being “to the point” about AI disruption because of fear of negative backlash. He says he does not want to be “one of them.” 

    Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has emerged as a vocal advocate for preparing for a large-scale disruption in the workforce. Last year, he warned AI could eliminate 50% of entry-level jobs and lead to an unemployment rate between 10% and 20%. 

    “I’m more in Dario’s camp. I want to be honest about the fact that I do think there’s going to be a very big shift,” Siemiatkowski said. 

    “I think more like Elon that it might lead to a golden age of humanity where you know AI does more of jobs and more people can enjoy themselves and do other things, that we can have a richer society,” Siemiatkowski said, referring to Elon Musk’s prediction that work will be optional in 10 to 20 years due to AI and robots taking over most roles. 

    Siemiatkowski shared one part of Klarna’s business he thinks AI could never replace: employees who work directly with retailers, and where business depends on relationships. 

    “I have people in Portland talking to Nike. I have people in China talking to Shein. I have people in Amsterdam talking to Adyen,” he explained. “I’m still gonna argue that it’s going to be vital to offer a human connection there.” 

    Siemiatkowski said that while the company has shrunk, it has increased employee compensation by nearly 50% due to higher profits, creating a safety net for employees, even as their jobs may disappear due to AI.   

    “I’m an optimist at heart, but I also want to be a realist around what’s going to happen in the shorter term, and it’s going to be a lot of turmoil in this.” 

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    Jacqueline Munis

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  • Finding Calm in Chaos: How Leaders Can Thrive Amid Industry Uncertainty

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    We are living through one of the most volatile periods in modern business. Global uncertainty has nearly doubled since the mid-1990s, and the tech sector feels this turbulence more acutely, with top tech companies having experienced 40% higher churn from 2000–2023 than other industries.

    Executives today face disruption from every angle: generative AI reshaping business models overnight, shifting regulations, geopolitical tensions fragmenting markets, and intense competition for talent. Anxiety is widespread—but uncertainty reveals more about leadership than stability ever could.

    The companies thriving through uncertainty aren’t those with perfect foresight. They’re the ones that practiced navigating volatility before the storm hits—building organizational muscle memory that transforms disruption into competitive advantage.

    Map talent to value creation

    In volatile times, the difference between thriving and surviving comes down to whether your best people are positioned to drive the most value.

    Most executives focus on C-suite talent allocation, but true competitive advantage lives in the team leads, product managers, and engineers doing the hands-on work. These are the roles where decisions get made hundreds of times per day—where product features get prioritized, customer problems get solved, and code gets deployed.

    When the landscape shifts, you need your strongest players closest to the action. I’ve watched companies lose ground not because their strategy was wrong, but because their best execution talent was trapped in legacy projects while competitors moved faster.

    The companies getting this right are ruthless about talent reallocation. When market conditions shift, they move their strongest teams to the opportunities that matter most, rather than waiting for annual planning cycles.

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    Tony Jamous

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  • Why Major Workplace Disruptions Aren’t Always a Bad Thing

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    The road to business success rarely stays smooth, and while you may aim for your enterprise to tick along like a well-oiled German luxury sedan, bumps and dings and accidents and upsets along the way are all but inevitable. Some common examples include an executive falling ill, the loss of a major client, or a top-to-bottom restructuring to pivot the business to new markets. Take heart, though. A new report says that if your company suffers a serious disruption of some kind, it may actually boost your employees’ trust levels and tempt them to stay with you in the long term, but only if you manage the crisis well.

    The data, from SparkEffect, a small Seattle-based organizational development firm, found that 71 percent of the companies surveyed had experienced some form of disruption in the last two years. Unsurprisingly, the most common disruptions were AI-driven changes forced on business operations, with 37 percent of companies going through this disruptive process. Leadership team turnover was a close second, with 36 percent of companies affected, and further down the list were disruptions like layoffs or company restructurings, personal crises, cultural overhauls and job redesigns, Human Resources Director noted. 

    The investigation showed that if companies deal with these disruptions well, it can boost employees’ trust levels by 12 percent over the baseline. Meanwhile, if the company’s leadership fumbles the play, it can actually crash employee trust levels 28 percent under the baseline — a pretty dramatic shift. 

    The focus on trust is important, because the research showed the biggest impact a business-disrupting event can have is on manager trust — even more than workers’ trust in the overall organization. Data show that staff trust their direct managers more than company leadership, which might explain why a badly bungled reaction to a dramatic business disruption can have a significant impact. The report highlights this and notes that while “trust in local leaders often starts higher than trust in the organization as a whole,” it is actually “more fragile.” 

    Organization-level leaders do well with retaining employee trust if they exercise good communication throughout a disruptive event. The report also says that if leaders are fair and clearly empathetic to their workers that can boost trust, also if they offer staff the chance to explain their concerns.

    But if managers exhibit poor transparency, and there’s a misalignment between the decisions the leadership makes and what employees feel they need, including bad handling of tech rollouts (critical in the “all in on AI” business shifts that are trendy right now) then that can harm workers’ trust.

    Much of this thinking resonates with an interesting report that recently underlined how important middle managers can be in an organization, despite the current trend for ditching midlevel managers in favor of a flatter org chart. The survey from San Francisco-based workplace communications outfit Firstup showed that more than half of the 1,000 U.S. non-management workers surveyed said their direct manager was their “most trusted source” for up to date workplace news. Just 10 percent said they think senior leadership is their best source for this info.

    There are some very clear lessons for running your own operation here.

    Rolling out AI systems is a surging workplace trend at the moment, as companies seek to boost worker efficiency and glean higher profits from their revenues. But AI rollouts can be dramatic and disruptive, as this new research points out, unsettling employees who may have to deal with unfamiliar, radically new technology, possibly requiring upskilling, even as they worry about the long term implications AI has on their employability. If you’re pivoting to include AI in your business, handling it carefully, with clear communication and an openness to hear employees’ concerns is a must. Otherwise worker trust may fall, and the secondary impact on their engagement and your profits may be marked.

    Similar thinking should be included in your management decisions should your company encounter other disruptive events. Fairness and empathy are your friends here.

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    Kit Eaton

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  • Metrolink service closes for four days, starting today

    Metrolink service closes for four days, starting today

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    The transportation system of Los Angeles has been beset by labor unrest, arson, presidential motorcades, civil disobedience and just too much traffic. But a four-day stoppage affecting train service this week is more mundane — and perhaps even beneficial in the longer run.

    Beginning today, Metrolink service will be suspended for maintenance and enhancements, capping a three-year modernization project.

    Trains will not run on any part of Metrolink’s six-county system through the end of Friday and will resume normal service on Saturday.

    The disruption was scheduled to coincide with a lighter period for those who commute to work — precisely unlike the disruption this month when demonstrators pressing for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war blocked the 110 Freeway and then, later, blocked access to Los Angeles International Airport.

    “We scheduled this work on dates of historically low ridership and are working hand-in-hand with our transit partners to identify alternate transportation options for those who will be impacted,” Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle said in a statement.

    Metrolink has provided customers with alternative routing options on its website.

    Metrolink and other public transit systems have struggled to recover ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic — and a better, more efficient ride is part of the plan.

    “Placing our system temporarily out of service was necessary,” Justin Fornelli, Metrolink’s chief of program delivery, said in a statement. “This unique break in service will allow us to tackle state-of-good-repair projects across multiple lines.”

    Metrolink is operated by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority and serves Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and North San Diego counties.

    The service is a major cog in a local public transit system that is trying to overcome problems that include inadequate regional coverage as well as crime and drug use.

    The required modernization work will restrict access in and out of downtown’s Union Station, the terminus for six of Metrolink’s seven service lines, as well as the agency’s Central Maintenance Facility, where passenger cars are cleaned and locomotives are serviced daily.

    The work will encompass replacing 1930s-era signal relay technology with a “state-of-the-art, microprocessor-driven signal system, allowing Metrolink to simultaneously run multiple trains on multiple tracks as they enter and depart,” the agency said. The increased capacity is expected to reduce delays and improve safety.

    Among other planned projects are repairing concrete on platforms, painting, cleaning canopies and gutters, adding more emergency lighting, and servicing high-voltage components.

    Teams also will replace rail on the curvy, mountainous Antelope Valley Line, reducing the need for “slow orders,” which can lead to delays.

    “By modernizing our rail network, we are preparing our system for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics,” the agency said.

    During the closure, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner will bypass Union Station entirely.

    “Passengers traveling to or from LAX can utilize bus connections from either Glendale or Fullerton, depending on the specific train they are traveling on,” Amtrak advised. “Bus seats are limited.”

    Union Station will not be in total shutdown. Other transit providers will continue to operate, including the L.A. Metro light rail and subway service, Amtrak bus connections, LAX FlyAway bus service and LADOT and municipal bus routes. Union Station restaurants and other businesses also will remain open.

    Metrolink has posted online a page with answers to questions riders are likely to have.

    The agency has secured $2.4 billion for recent and ongoing improvements — part of a $10-billion wishlist for priority projects. The Southern California Regional Rail Authority relies on local, state and federal funding sources for its projects.

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    Howard Blume

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  • Fuel Your Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit With These 3 Tips | Entrepreneur

    Fuel Your Innovation and Entrepreneurial Spirit With These 3 Tips | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Innovation is the lifeblood of any economy. It is what drives economic growth, creates new jobs and improves the quality of life for everyone. And entrepreneurs are the driving force behind innovation. Their creative brilliance and passion for pushing boundaries inspire and drive the world’s most extraordinary advances.

    Whether in the technological, scientific or social space, entrepreneurs serve as creative disrupters who challenge conventional thinking, break away from accepted frameworks and create new ways of doing things. Entrepreneurs are the ones who see opportunities, whereas others see problems. They are the ones who are willing to take risks and experiment with new ideas. They are the ones who are not afraid to fail. They understand that it’s not about what is destroyed; it’s what is created.

    They know there must be changes in technology, regulations and how consumers behave so that things can be done much more efficiently. Subsequently, they have shaped the world incredibly, driving innovation and change.

    Related: Don’t Let These Myths About Entrepreneurship Hold You Back

    The role of entrepreneurs as creative disruptors

    Creative disruptors can be identified as those who use their entrepreneurial talents to go beyond what is already known. By challenging the status quo and pushing the boundaries, they are able to come up with solutions, products or services that have never existed before. Creative disruptors often identify problems that need solutions and use their innovative mindsets to build entirely new business models or philosophies that are then adopted by others.

    Creative disruptors are also highly persistent in the face of opposition and challenges. While developing and growing their projects, they often face a range of critiques and naysayers. They not only refute these critiques with their innovative solutions but also use them as fuel to drive their projects forward. In doing so, they demonstrate the value of creative thinking and its ability to truly disrupt paradigms and bring about positive outcomes for businesses, the economy and society in general.

    The unique gift of entrepreneurs’ disruptive vision and energy can be seen in almost every sector. Take technology, for example. In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of tech startups that have disrupted traditional industries and created game-changing products, services and business models. These entrepreneurs have built products that have transformed our lives in many ways, from streaming services to ecommerce to apps. The products and services created by these entrepreneurs have helped to drive innovation and create entirely new markets, paving the way for the next generation of business leaders.

    Related: How Curiosity And Passion Fuels Entrepreneurship And Innovation

    In addition to technology, entrepreneurs are also responsible for pushing the boundaries and disrupting many other industries, such as transportation, healthcare, education, energy and more. Innovative solutions such as ride-sharing platforms, online educational solutions and alternative energy sources are just a few of the products and services created by entrepreneurs and are now shaking up the respective industries.

    The examples of success and value entrepreneurs create show that they are indeed critical to driving progress and innovation worldwide. They may not be the only catalysts for change, but they are certainly some of the most important players in the process. They are the ones who take risks, challenge accepted wisdom and refuse to settle for what has already been done before. They are the creators and disrupters who move us forward in invaluable ways.

    The most successful and influential entrepreneurs are those who are driven by the belief that they can make a difference in the world. Through their passion for pushing the limits, these entrepreneurs create, disrupt and innovate, allowing us all to reach new levels of progress and success. Whether it’s a new product, service, business model, or revolutionary way of thinking, entrepreneurs are the ones who will take it to the next level. And they will keep pushing the boundaries until the world knows and celebrates the unique value they bring.

    Related: The Top 5 Reasons Why Entrepreneurship is Difficult (and How to Overcome Them)

    How entrepreneurs fuel disruptive innovation

    In today’s world, innovation is more important than ever. However, not all brilliant business concepts are disruptive. And not all disruptive ideas are excellent. Chasing disruption for its own sake is a form of sugar-rush entrepreneurship that doesn’t produce anything worthwhile in the long run. The best form of disruption is when a compelling new product or service solves a need that consumers weren’t even aware they had. Here are some of the ways entrepreneurs can do this:

    Related: 4 Reasons Why Most Entrepreneurs Still Hesitate to Use ChatGPT

    Identifying new opportunities

    Entrepreneurs are continuously looking for fresh changes in their surroundings. They constantly look for methods to enhance current goods and services or develop completely new ones.

    1. Taking risks. Risk-taking is not a problem for entrepreneurs. They are prepared to take the calculated risk of failing to succeed because they know that failure is a necessary part of the entrepreneurial journey.
    2. Experimenting with new ideas. Entrepreneurs aren’t hesitant to try out novel concepts. They know that experimenting with various ideas and seeing what sticks is the greatest method to develop a winning concept.
    3. Building connected networks. Entrepreneurs know that they need to connect with others to develop their ideas. Networking with new clients, partners and investors remains a constant activity for them.

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    Jon Michail

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  • 5 Traits Fast-Growing Companies Have in Common

    5 Traits Fast-Growing Companies Have in Common

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Today’s marketplace is increasingly competitive. Every entrepreneur and company strives to be an industry leader and develop the latest and greatest innovations to disrupt the market and best position themselves. The road to success is often not straightforward, and many companies fail to achieve the necessary goals. But why do some ventures realize strong success and rapid growth while others do not?

    Common traits are shared among many of the world’s fastest-growing companies that others can adopt to help increase their growth and differentiate themselves from the competition.

    Here’s how they excel within the market:

    1. Innovate new products and services with clear strategic intent

    In a constantly changing environment, it is essential to understand and adapt to new consumer trends. The most successful companies understand the firm’s strategic purpose and effectively develop an innovation agenda, often with strong novel combinations of products and services. They go to market with the latest “must haves” for their customers, often establishing a competitive advantage.

    Studies have demonstrated the positive impact that product and service innovation can have on a company’s top and bottom line trajectory. Hopper, a travel booking site, has focused on innovating and developing their app and cloud technologies. Now, you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, and homes in one seamless transaction. Hopper complements their travel products with peace-of-mind services, such as price reductions, freezes, cancelations and a premium VIP experience.

    The company’s strategic intent is clear — to be the most seamless, convenient, and price-competitive travel portal on the market, especially for first-time users. This committed effort has attracted a $96 million investment from Capital One Travel “to accelerate the company’s growth on several fronts,” following $170 million in fundraising garnered in 2021.

    Related: Continue to Innovate Your Products, or Die a Slow Death

    2. Thoughtfully explore new business arenas beyond their core

    Companies need to reinvent themselves and expand into new arenas to grow. Consumers’ needs are constantly changing, and high-growth companies excel at identifying new markets to move into based on new consumer behaviors. However, new business arenas are inherently more risky and costly to explore because of the distance from their core. Hence the common question: How much attention should one devote to speculative areas while also maintaining and improving core business? The answer is a thoughtful exploration through sequential steps that build on each other and accumulate to drive real transformation.

    Roku Inc.’s business strategy illustrates this. Twenty years ago, Roku became an add-on for existing television HDMI ports. In 2007 Netflix chose not to build its own hardware and instead invested in a partnership with Roku, setting in motion Roku’s path. The company then launched a service allowing advertisers to serve ads to Roku users, followed by the launch of the Roku Channel, and in 2014, they released their first Smart TV. This is a progression of incremental well-sequenced steps, stretching the company beyond its core yet setting the foundation for real transformation.

    3. Invest in their people wholeheartedly

    Employees are the engine of any business. They represent your brand to customers often better than anyone else and express the company’s culture in a critical way for attracting new talent. Leading companies provide their employees with opportunities to learn new skills and further their professional development, foster an inclusive environment of respect and collaboration, and provide flexible working arrangements. This translates to high employee retention, increased productivity, and a strong reputation for the firm.

    This is why companies like ClickUp invest in their people. They prioritized new workspaces with employees front of mind. New offices include open floor plans, standing desks, rooftop terraces, and gyms. Meanwhile, Airbnb has experienced over one million new prospects visiting their job portal since announcing their “permanent work from everywhere” policy. Additionally, LinkedIn offers a $2,000/year wellness benefit for people to expense on activities related to physical or mental well-being.

    Related: To Grow Your Business Start Focusing on Your Employees

    4. Carefully monitor and adapt to new technologies

    Every company must have the capacity to adapt to new technology or be left behind. Furthermore, companies can raise productivity and cut costs by tailoring technology to their needs.

    Campbell Soup, the iconic brand that has brought its soup products to American dinner tables for nearly three centuries, is leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to inform its product development better. According to FoodDive, Campbell’s “Insights Engine” uses AI to scan billions of data points that their innovation team then uses to predict where a strong trend is emerging, if it will last, and if any of their brands are positioned to exploit it. This process has informed the launch of oat milk-based soups and FlavorUp, a cooking concentrate that enhances food flavor, pushing new products to account for 2% of yearly net sales with a line of sight to reach 3.5% by 2025.

    Related: How to Get Your Company to Adapt to New Technologies

    5. Focus on customer experience and truly understand their customers

    According to Forrester, companies that lead in customer experience outperform laggards by nearly 84%! With the rise of digitization, the most innovative companies are providing more tailored support with 24/7 customer service. Both parties benefit by surpassing potential or existing consumers’ expectations: customers have a positive experience, and companies grow.

    L’Oreal dialed up its focus on people with limited mobility by launching its novel HAPTA make-up applicator at CES 2023. The applicator uses “built-in smart motion controls” and “customizable attachments” to increase the user’s range of motion, helping the customer open product packaging and self-apply make-up precisely.

    Companies that continue to innovate their products and services, explore new business arenas, invest in their people, adapt to new technologies, and focus on the customer experience place themselves in a position to succeed in 2023 and beyond.

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    Francesco Fazio

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