Buy now, pay later tech firm Klarna has announced plans to cut around 10% of its staff as it re-evaluates its position for future growth.

The Swedish company said it’s a ‘very different world’ now to when it set out its original 2022 plans, which have forced the business to make ‘some really tough’ decisions, impacting around 700 jobs from its 7,000 strong workforce, citing ‘the war in Ukraine unfold, a shift in consumer sentiment, a steep increase in inflation, a highly volatile stock market and a likely recession’.

Detailed in its first quarter trading update, which has seen pre-tax losses jump to $250m up from $80m in the same period last year, Klarna said: “We have carefully assessed our organisational needs for the future which will unfortunately mean c.10% of Klarna colleagues leaving the company, as well as tighter controls on our cost base.”

Commenting on its Q1 performance, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and Co-Found of Klarna, said: “Klarna’s performance continues to strengthen with merchandise volumes growing globally and well above global e-commerce performance.

“When we set out our business plans for 2022 in the autumn of last year, it was a very different world than the one we are in today. What we are seeing now is not temporary or short-lived, and hence we need to act.

“More than ever, we need to be laser-focused on what really will make us successful going forward. Based on this, the senior leaders of Klarna have made some really tough decisions, some of the hardest ones we have ever had to make.

“We have re-evaluated our organisational setup to make sure we can continue to deliver on our ambitious goals. It saddens me to say that as a result of this, a number of our colleagues and friends across the company will be impacted.”