Middle managers have been the target of layoffs at most companies for years. Now, two marquee firms are on their way to redefine some of these roles as the pass on the work to AI.
Last month, started to give its Reality Labs unit employees one of three new job titles, according to a report by Business Insider. They are now either called “AI builder,” “pod lead,” or “org lead,” as the company aims to become “AI-native.”
Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block is also doing away with the word “manager” from its hierarchy. They are now becoming “player-coaches” and build together with the team, while “individual contributors” use AI tools to let know their own decisions, instead of waiting to be told what to do.
Reorganising businesses
For years, businesses have reorganised themselves around disruptive technologies. The latest one is AI, with companies looking to dissolve dedicated middle manage levels in an unconventional pitch. Yet, Block CEO wants to eliminate all managerial layers.
For now, however, Meta and Block remain in a shell where their rebranding is less dramatic, as some of the new roles still require human oversight and support.
Hierarchy eliminated — The ultimate goal
The reorganisations that Meta and are seeing can be traced back to a years-long trend of companies removing their middle managerial ranks to allegedly increase speed and effeciency. It must be noted that most layoffs that have happened off late have targeted middle managers who receive a fair amount of money as salary.
According to job site Indeed, companies in 2025 advertised 12.3% fewer middle-manager jobs than in 2024. The overall listings also declined during this period.
During an earnings call in January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company was investing in more AI tools to make the structure more flat.
“We are starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person,” he said.
How AI acts as a key driver
To achieve the goal of a hierarchy-less organisation, companies consider AI as a key driver. For example, Meta’s org leads of its Reality Labs unit handle reviews and promotions with support from AI systems, Business Insider had earlier reported.
On last Tuesday, Jack Dorsey and Sequoia partner Roelof Botha revealed their shared vision in a blog post that talked about a future with no hierarchy.
“There is no need for a permanent middle management layer,” they wrote. “Everything else the old hierarchy did, the system coordinates.”
Dorsey has reirerated his vision in a podcast published on Thursday. Talking on an episode of Sequoia Capital’s “Long Strange Trip” podcast, the Twitter founder said that his goal is to cut down the number of layers between his new company Block’s 6,000 employees and himself this year to two or three.
While at present there are about five layers, Dorsey said the “most ideal case” would be to have no layers at Block at all. “Everyone in the company reports to me,” the CEO said.