Klarna to cut 10% of staff as it warns of recession

Buy now pay later firm Klarna has announced plans to cut around 700 staff as it warned of a "likely recession".

The Swedish firm blamed a combination of rising prices, a change in consumer sentiment and the war in Ukraine for the move.

"What we are seeing now in the world is not temporary or short-lived, and hence we need to act," said chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski.

The cuts equate to around 10% of Klarna's workforce.

"When we set our business plans for 2022 in the autumn of last year, it was a very different world than the one we are in today," said Mr Siemiatkowski.

"Since then, we have seen a tragic and unnecessary war in Ukraine unfold, a shift in consumer sentiment, a steep increase in inflation, a highly volatile stock market and a likely recession."