External signal·Fortune·Jun 9, 2026·Sharon Goldman·7 min read
AI agents are flattening corporate hierarchies. Here's how companies—and managers—can develop a new playbook
“AI agents can now perform many of those functions continuously and at scale.”
Summary
Fortune reports on a 'Great Flattening' in which companies deploying AI agents for coordination, reporting, and task tracking are compressing layers of middle management. It cites a Korn Ferry survey of 15,000 professionals in which roughly 41% said their employer trimmed management layers last year, plus restructuring at Meta, Citigroup, CrowdStrike, GitLab, and Cloudflare, whose CEO Matthew Prince cut about 20% of staff and described laying off 'measurers' while keeping 'builders.' Analysts argue much management work is now automatable. Several experts counter that management layers will not vanish but shift from coordination toward leadership: judgment, trust-building, and developing talent. The piece flags a key risk: if AI automates early-career work, the pipeline that produces future senior experts could shrink.
Predictions for the future of work
The article predicts middle-management and 'measurer' roles (finance, legal, internal audit, coordination-heavy jobs) are most exposed, while engineers, sellers, and distinctly human leadership skills become more valuable. Remaining managers will be expected to supervise multiple AI agents rather than just write prompts. Flattening is currently concentrated in tech-forward firms but experts say the 'safe middle' is ending. The longer-term risk, framed on a 10-year horizon, is a thinning pipeline of future experts and senior leaders.
Originally published by Fortune · Jun 9, 2026
Read the original at Fortune