Surely this could have been a novelty: a young shooter on strike! Certainly, given its position as an international leader in installment payments, Klarna can no longer present itself as a simple startup. But Klarna Bank AG, created in Stockholm in 2005, is actually a fintech, a neobank and, without a doubt, one of the most avant-garde.
By imposing a new financing method and forcing financial institutions to follow it in the field of installment payments, Klarna was thus one of the first fintechs to reach a valuation level equal to or higher than that of the largest traditional banks and, consequently, the one of the first and one of the most affected by the reduced appetite of investors conditioned by the rise in rates. Its valuation quickly plummeted.
As a result of rapid restructuring, Klarna has also successfully developed its own innovative and customized online shopping center to promote its financial solutions. It thus becomes the first fintech that manages to diversify its activity on such a large scale, which places it once again at the forefront of mobile financial applications, offering new uses and improved life experiences.
In Sweden, however, Klarna narrowly avoided a strike on November 7. The general management was accused of evading, for eight months, not signing a collective agreement. However, Klarna management made no secret of it: they were hesitant.
In fact, it was difficult for him to know whether this union demand was widely shared among his 2,000 Swedish employees. Furthermore, another union present in the company did not want this strike. Under pressure, Klarna finally agreed to sign an agreement with the unions for a collective agreement.
A need for responsiveness
Behind these doubts, Klarna management wonders whether the classic provisions of a collective agreement (working conditions and hours, holidays, job security) do not risk compromising the responsiveness of decisions and the drive for agility , which are more essential than ever for the proper functioning of a fintech. Once again, Klarna appears to be at the forefront of a general problem.
While investors easily raised funds and transferred them to young companies, a dominant but somewhat smug discourse suggested that they developed in an essentially participatory and collaborative way. In a more difficult context, the speeches are now more realistic. Responsiveness requires quick adjustments. Management impulses must be mobilized quickly.
On the other hand, innovation and technology companies have become too numerous and now represent too important a sector (we are talking about a million jobs in France) to cultivate an exceptional status. In Sweden, as in France, 90% of employees benefit from a collective agreement. Why not Klarna employees?
The stakes are certainly not small. Faced with labor regulations considered too rigid, an innovative company like Klarna could easily favor the use of off-site external services or artificial intelligence solutions instead of job creation. She certainly wouldn’t be the only one.
Source: BFM TV
