Layoff wave that everyone pretended wasn’t coming just printed its ugliest chart yetThe tech dream is quietly hemorrhaging real human bodies behind the AI hype curtain.
layoffs in the Information sector (which includes much of tech) jumped in March, to their highest level on record outside the pandemic spike. Notable because the earlier wave of tech layoff announcements really didn't show up in the data
byu/Conscious-Quarter423 inEconomyCharts
Klarna replaced 700 customer service agents with AI.
Resolution time dropped from 11 minutes to 2.
Then quality collapsed on complex cases.
The CEO admitted cost became too dominant.
Customers wanted humans.
Klarna is now hiring people again.
55% of firms that replaced humans with AI regret it.
Two-thirds have already started rehiring.
Turns out the cheap version of the work isn’t the work.
Klarna replaced 700 customer service agents with AI.
Resolution time dropped from 11 minutes to 2.
Then quality collapsed on complex cases.
The CEO admitted cost became too dominant.
Customers wanted humans.
Klarna is now hiring people again.
55% of firms that replaced…
— George Pu (@TheGeorgePu) May 6, 2026