Airbnb’s CEO said “talent managers” will soon be a thing of the past.
“I don’t think human resources managers will have any value in the future,” CEO Brian Chesky said about the impact of AI on the “Invest Like The Best” podcast on Tuesday.
”“People who do too many one-on-ones aren’t going to survive,” Chesky said, adding, “That leadership style isn’t going to work.” Context is required. ”
Chesky joins a growing number of technology executives who argue that in the age of AI, there is no need for “pure manager” roles — roles for employees who simply manage people as part of their job. Chesky’s words are the latest sign that middle managers are increasingly vulnerable, as more companies announce layoffs and cite AI as a key factor.
Airbnb last made large-scale layoffs in May 2020 during the pandemic, but a company spokesperson said the company had not announced any planned layoffs. The company is scheduled to announce its first quarter results on Thursday.
Introducing the “Pure Manager”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said Tuesday that the company will no longer have “pure managers” after the company announced 14% layoffs. “We are flattening our organizational structure down to a maximum of five levels below the CEO/COO,” he wrote in a memo to employees.
Block chief Jack Dorsey said in a blog post with Sequoia partner Roelof Botha in March that “there is no need for a permanent middle management layer” after the company made significant layoffs earlier this year. Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long touted the value of flattening teams.
Chesky said executives now need to get involved in the core of what their companies do if they want to survive in the AI era.
“You don’t manage people; you manage jobs,” Chesky says. If you’re a lawyer, “you have to actually read and engage with the case law.”
As Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong put it, in the age of AI, managers should become more like “player-coaches” who get their hands dirty with their teams.