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The Middle Manager Didn’t See It Coming
- Dell D.C. Carvalho
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
In 2023, IBM quietly paused hiring for 7,800 back-office roles. CEO Arvind Krishna said these jobs could be replaced by AI in the next five years. Many of those roles weren’t data entry. They were middle managers who reviewed documents, approved workflows, or coordinated teams. These are the kinds of repeatable tasks that generative AI now handles faster and cheaper¹.
Krishna wasn’t alone. Dropbox, Meta, and banks like JPMorgan began trimming middle-layer roles while investing in internal AI platforms. The pattern is clear: AI is automating the coordination, not just the execution¹.
Why Middle Managers Are at Risk
Middle managers often spend their day in meetings, relaying information, and updating spreadsheets. These tasks are easy to digitize. Generative AI now:
Writes status reports
Summarizes meetings
Flags performance issues
Approves budget items using rules
A McKinsey study found that up to 30 percent of managerial tasks could be automated with today’s technology². Unlike factory jobs, AI can replace decisions, not just labor.
What Happens Next
Companies are not eliminating managers entirely. But they are flattening structures. One manager may now supervise 30 reports instead of 10. This is already happening at Amazon and Walmart³.
That means future managers will need to focus less on control and more on judgment, coaching, and cross-functional problem solving. AI handles the routine work. People handle exceptions.
The shift has started. Quietly, but quickly.
#ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWork #BusinessLeadership #Automation #MiddleManagement #GenerativeAI #LinkedInArticles
References
Vincent, J. (2023, May 1). IBM says it will pause hiring for jobs that AI could do. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/1/23706484/ibm-ai-job-replacement-hiring-pause
Chui, M., Manyika, J., & Miremadi, M. (2016, July). Where machines could replace humans—and where they can’t (yet). McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/where-machines-could-replace-humans-and-where-they-cant-yet
Weise, K. (2021, May 13). Amazon cuts middle managers to boost warehouse productivity. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/technology/amazon-warehouse-productivity.html
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