Is Your Management Layer on the Brink? AI Is Redefining Leadership

In February 2026 Jack Dorsey announced that Block would lay off 4,000 of its roughly 8,000‑9,000 employees—almost half of the workforce—stating that AI had taken over the core work of the management layer.

The author argues that the traditional value of management is information transmission: layers exist to collect, filter, and report data from front‑line staff to executives. AI can directly read a company’s digital footprints—messages, collaborative documents, code commits, meeting minutes—and produce comprehensive reports in seconds, eliminating the need for information middlemen.

Block therefore restructured its hierarchy from five layers (CEO → VP → Director → Manager → executors) to a 2‑3 layer model with three roles: Executors (engineers, product managers, designers, sales) whose productivity is amplified by AI; Result Owners who own key metrics, coordinate resources across departments, and dynamically assemble teams; and Enablers who must get hands‑on in business rather than merely manage.

In this new architecture the “pure management” tier disappears. Middle managers who relied on meetings, PPTs, and reporting lose relevance. Meetings now involve AI‑generated product demos and real‑time data validation, turning weeks‑long cross‑department cycles into a single session.

The same trend is observable across the industry: HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Panasonic and other firms have also cut middle‑management while hiring AI engineers and algorithm researchers. In 2026 the global tech sector recorded 30,000 layoffs, about half of which were AI‑related, yet demand for AI‑driven roles grew by 27%.

To survive, managers must shift from merely transmitting information to creating value. They need three capabilities: judgment to interpret AI‑provided data and make decisions; connection to maintain trust, culture, and talent; and creativity to pose new problems, spot unseen opportunities, and combine knowledge across domains. Mastering these three becomes a moat in the AI era.

The article ends with a call to action: managers should assess how much of their team’s work is simply moving information and prepare to become enablers who deliver tangible results.