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According to Airbnb\u2019s CEO, one entire layer of corporate hierarchy will soon disappear. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Brian Chesky, who has led Airbnb as CEO since cofounding the company in 2007, spoke about the impact of AI on an episode of the Invest Like The Best podcast<\/a> earlier this week. He said \u201cpeople managers\u201d faced the most risk of elimination, stating that he didn\u2019t think the role had \u201cany value in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who have lots of recurring one-on-ones are not going to survive,\u201d Chesky said on the podcast. \u201cThat kind of leadership style is not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n As companies invest heavily in AI and face pressure to cut costs, middle managers, particularly those focused on coordinating work, aggregating reports and passing information up the chain, are facing uncertainty. Gartner predicts<\/a> that by 2026, 20% of organizations will use AI to eliminate more than half of their middle-management positions. Professionals in supervisory roles that don\u2019t involve hands-on work are in danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the podcast, Chesky said that the only managers who will remain relevant are those who get their hands dirty with actual execution rather than just coordinating others. In his view, the AI era demands leaders who can both oversee teams and contribute directly to the work itself. This means managers need technical skills, product knowledge or specialized expertise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Executives who spend their days translating information between layers of hierarchy or managing workflows are vulnerable because AI tools can increasingly handle those coordination tasks, Chesky explained. Surviving in the age of AI means becoming indispensable to a company, not just providing oversight of the people who do the real work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t manage the people, you manage the work,\u201d Chesky said on the podcast. For example, if you\u2019re a lawyer, \u201cyou have to actually read the case law, and you have to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n Chesky\u2019s comments reflect a broader rethinking among tech leaders about whether traditional management layers still make sense. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced<\/a> earlier this week that the company would eliminate \u201cpure managers\u201d or employees whose sole responsibility is overseeing others, as part of layoffs affecting 14% of staff. In a memo to staff, Armstrong explicitly cited AI as the catalyst, writing that engineers now \u201cuse AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs,\u201d Armstrong wrote.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Jack Dorsey, CEO of fintech company Block, wrote in a blog post<\/a> in March that \u201cthere is no need for a permanent middle management layer.\u201d He argued that AI could handle much of what middle managers traditionally do. Block is narrowing down its staff into three roles: individual contributors who build and operate systems, directly responsible individuals who own problems and outcomes and player-coaches who both build and develop people. The company laid off 40% of staff<\/a> in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is empowered, with a role that\u2019s much closer to the work and the customer,\u201d Dorsey wrote in the post. \u201cAI doesn\u2019t augment your company. It reveals what your company actually is.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n According to Airbnb\u2019s CEO, one entire layer of corporate hierarchy will soon disappear. \u00a0<\/p>\n Brian Chesky, who has led Airbnb as CEO since cofounding the company in 2007, spoke about the impact of AI on an episode of the Invest Like The Best podcast<\/a> earlier this week. He said \u201cpeople managers\u201d faced the most risk of elimination, stating that he didn\u2019t think the role had \u201cany value in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeople who have lots of recurring one-on-ones are not going to survive,\u201d Chesky said on the podcast. \u201cThat kind of leadership style is not going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nManagers will have to do more than oversee workers<\/h2>\n
Other CEOs are rethinking middle management<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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