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Tech’s war on middle management is just getting started

The middle manager class is under attack. Is it still fit for purpose, or are engineering teams due a reshuffle?
February 17, 2025

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Less than two years ago, McKinsey declared middle managers “the heart” of the modern company. Harvard Business Review recently declared them “an organization’s moral compass”. But now the corporate layer cake is really beginning to wobble. 

Following a tsunami of layoffs in 2023, last year saw the elimination of tens of thousands of supervisory roles across the white-collar workforce, with several companies striking entire tiers of management from their ranks. More cuts are predicted to come. 

Changing of the guard

Though the trend extends across industries, large tech companies are leading the charge.

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