For decades, moving into management has been widely viewed as evidence that an employee has successfully risen to a stable and respected position within corporate America. Now many office workers are watching big CEOs openly question whether some of those roles will still have long-term value in an AI-driven workplace.
The debate heated up after that Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky He said managers whose main role is guiding people instead of directly participating in projects may have little future within companies that are increasingly being built by artificial intelligence.
“I don't think people managers are going to have any value in the future,” Chesky said during an appearance on the Invest Like the Best podcast while criticizing managers for their work focused on meetings, one-on-ones and communication without being directly involved in the work itself.
These words shocked the heads because many workers already feel that the structures of companies are changing around them.
In large companies across the technology sector and the wider corporate world, layers of management are shrinking as businesses invest heavily in AI systems designed to manage planning, reporting, coordination and administrative work that once supported entire management teams and department heads.
What upsets many office workers is not just that automation is replacing individual jobs. It's possible that the traditional path toward promotion and long-term job stability may change sooner than employees expect.
The shift is also driven by money. As companies spend billions on artificial intelligence, executives are expected to show investors that AI can reduce payroll costs, reduce administrative layers and help companies operate with fewer employees.
The HRD America report noted that companies including Block it, Coinbase again Meta all of them are moving towards more complex structures while reducing the layers of management and putting more emphasis on the remaining leaders as contributors.
Chesky argued that the managers who continue to succeed within AI-focused companies will grow more like “player coach” style leaders who stay involved in product development, engineering or operations rather than serving as consultants.
That idea made many office workers uncomfortable because management positions were considered one of the most secure roles in large corporations.
For many years, middle management jobs were considered relatively secure because they sat between managers and front-line employees. As AI tools become more capable of handling coordination and oversight tasks, many employees are beginning to question whether companies will continue to maintain the large management structures they once relied on.
The HRD America report also highlighted the growing pressure on managers to demonstrate technology expertise, direct involvement in operational excellence and AI agility instead of focusing more on performance monitoring and review.
Research cited in the report found that Gartner expects 20% of organizations to use AI to fill more than half of their middle management positions by 2026.
For many workers, such speculation reinforces the growing belief that companies place more value on employees who build, design, code or operate products while placing less value on roles focused primarily on collaboration and supervision.
Workers discussing this change are increasingly questioning whether the old way of doing business – from junior staff to manager and finally to leadership – will still exist in the same way ten years from now.
Some workers are now wondering whether rising to the top still offers the same security it once did as companies continue to flatten structures and reduce layers of oversight.
Some worry young professionals entering corporate environments may face fewer opportunities to gradually move up traditional leadership tracks as AI reshapes how companies structure teams and responsibilities.
For many white workersdeep shock is not just the rise of AI. It's a growing realization that the corporate ladder itself can change faster than most jobs can adapt to.
