Over the past two years, corporate America has undergone a dramatic restructuring of its leadership structures. Companies are embracing "flattening," targeting middle management as unnecessary bureaucracy.
Mark Zuckerberg famously criticized the system as "managers managing managers, managing managers, managing managers, managing the people who are doing the work." Meta set the tone, and others followed. Citi reduced its management layers from 13 to eight. UPS slashed 12,000 managerial positions. Amazon announced plans to increase its worker-to-supervisor ratio by 15%, with CEO Andy Jassy proclaiming his disdain for bureaucracy. Elon Musk, too, has championed this drive for efficiency.
The impact is stark. Tens of thousands of middle managers have lost their positions, and in many cases, those roles are not being refilled. Revelio Labs, a workforce analytics firm, analyzed job posting data and revealed a concerning trend. Job openings for entry-level roles—those requiring little to no experience—declined by 14% during a white-collar hiring slowdown earlier this year. But postings for middle-management positions plummeted by 43%, and senior leadership roles fell by 57%. Despite a recent rebound in job postings for most roles, middle management remains an exception, with 42% fewer openings than in April 2022.
This trend signals a grim reality: many of the positions lost in what’s being called the "Great Flattening" may be gone for good.
The move to eliminate middle managers isn’t new. In the 1980s, globalization spurred a cost-cutting philosophy that painted supervisors as expendable. These roles, often seen as rubber-stamping work, became easy targets. From 1986 to 1998, the number of managers reporting to division heads dropped by 25%, while those reporting directly to CEOs nearly doubled. While executives got their streamlined hierarchies, the impact on efficiency has been mixed. Research indicates that while flatter structures can speed up decision-making, middle managers play critical roles in driving performance. They motivate teams, mentor employees, ensure effective communication, and maintain operational stability.
Despite their importance, middle managers now face a challenging job market. Live Data Technologies found that 32% of last year’s layoffs affected middle managers, compared to 20% in 2019. Revelio Labs’ data suggests companies are resuming hiring for lower-level roles but not for supervisory positions. This creates a twofold problem: more displaced managers competing for a shrinking pool of opportunities.
These displaced managers, often in their late 40s to 50s, are highly skilled professionals who ascended the corporate ladder over decades. Yet many find themselves struggling to secure new roles. Despite sending out countless applications, they are met with silence. Their collective frustration echoes a single question: What’s happening?
The answer lies in the numbers. The sharp reduction in middle-management roles has left a void that experience alone cannot fill. Many have adjusted their job searches, applying for nonmanagerial or entry-level positions. Yet even here, they face hurdles. Companies view seasoned professionals as overqualified, fearing they won’t stay long or fit into roles requiring less responsibility.
Take Rick, a 54-year-old former manager, as an example. After numerous rejections for supervisory roles, he expanded his search to include entry-level positions. Despite his willingness to step down the ladder, he’s repeatedly turned away for being overqualified. “I just need a job,” Rick says. “My unemployment runs out in about 30 days. I’ll come in and do a great job for you.”
Rick’s story highlights a paradox. The very experience that should make middle managers attractive to employers is now a liability. Some have resorted to editing their resumes to downplay their achievements, omitting high-ranking roles or even the year they graduated from college. One former COO, now applying for executive assistant positions, addresses her overqualification directly in her cover letters: "I understand my résumé shows big titles, but let me tell you who I am at heart. I genuinely want to do this work, and I’m not tied to titles."
For many, the question remains: When will companies begin hiring middle managers again? Much depends on whether the flattening delivers the promised efficiencies. CEOs argue that reducing layers of management fosters agility and faster product development. Zuckerberg described the goal as building “higher-quality products faster.” But if the current model proves unsustainable, organizations may be forced to rethink.
Already, cracks are showing. Companies with fewer middle managers are experiencing operational strain. Remaining supervisors, now responsible for larger teams, are burning out. Younger employees, deprived of mentors, report lower engagement. Departments become increasingly siloed without managers to bridge gaps and facilitate collaboration. The absence of these roles, once deemed superfluous, is exposing their essential contributions.
For now, displaced managers like Rick face a grim reality. “I’m not ready to step back,” he says. “I just want to work with good people and enjoy what I’m doing. I could deliver pizzas, but I know I can do more than that.”
The future of middle management depends on whether organizations recognize its true value. The short-term gains of flattening may give way to long-term inefficiencies, leading companies to reintroduce these roles. Until then, managers must navigate an evolving job market that has yet to find room for their expertise.
