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Shift in Managerial Responsibilities
Average number of direct reports per manager based on industry trends.
Primary Sources
Tech CEOs Say They No Longer Need So Many Managers
Tech CEOs Say They No Longer Need So Many Managers AI adoption is prompting founders at companies like Block, Airbnb, and Coinbase to rethink how teams are run.
'Pure Managers' Are Especially at Risk As Tech Companies Enact Layoffs ...
The most layoff-prone job in tech right now By Sarah E. Needleman You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. and Ana Altchek You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Sean Anthony Eddy/Getty Images 2026-05-05T19:28:02.611Z Coinbase and other tech companies want fewer managers — and ones who can act as "player-coaches." Managers who don't do any individual contributor work are especially vulnerable. Those who survive layoffs are being tasked with overseeing AI agents — and more workers. Managers who don't produce are becoming expendable. As tech layoffs roll on and org charts flatten, some industry leaders are sending them a sharp directive: Keep tabs on your reports, but be sure to contribute, too.In a letter to Coinbase staff on Tuesday, CEO Brian Armstrong announced plans to lay off 14% of its workforce and said everyone at the crypto company must be "a strong and active individual contributor." He also said the changes mean teams will be smaller — in some cases, just one person and their AI agents — and that there will no longer be "pure managers."Sound familiar? Last month, Block CEO Jack Dorsey said the company was slashing 40% of staff and rebranding managers as "player-coaches." Snap CEO Evan Spiegel framed plans to cut 1,000 jobs as part of a shift toward small, AI-powered "squads." Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Atlassian's Mike Cannon-Brookes, and others have expressed similar ideas.'Believing the hype'The trend reflects a shrinking tech world where middle managers are among the most vulnerable to cuts, while those who remain are expected to get their hands dirty, supervise more employees, and, increasingly, oversee AI agents, too. They even have a new name: megamanagers. A January Gallup survey shows that managers were responsible for an average of 12.1 workers last year, up from 10.9 in 2024. It also found that 97% of managers are taking on individual contributor work that falls outside of their leadership purview.Further, employers also advertised 12.3% fewer middle-manager jobs in 2025 than in 2024, according to job site Indeed. (Listings overall also declined.)Tech leaders are among the first to shake up their org charts this way because they were early to adopt AI, said Richard Lachman, professor of digital media at Toronto Metropolitan University and author of "Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI." They're a...
Middle managers are on the chopping block thanks to AI in the workplace ...
Gonzalez doesn't believe the middle manager is an endangered species, but job details will evolve, she said. So what's the solution for managers looking over their shoulders and trying to preserve ...
Managers, get your hands dirty or get fired: Lessons from AI ... - Mint
As layoffs become the law of the land, and artificial intelligence (AI) drives productivity, it is managers that are becoming redundant.
