Google and Amazon have lost middle managers as a result of recent tech layoffs. As businesses simplify their organisational structures, there is an increasing need to lower management levels in order to save costs and complexity. The emphasis has now switched to mid-level management after several layoffs of engineers and frontline employees. This suggests a shift in big tech’s approach to restructuring, as well as maybe a new era for corporate America. This is the situation and how it affects the industry.
EY
Since EY has started assiduously combining managerial levels in a hierarchical fashion, the other “Big Four” firms are keeping a close eye on the company. By eliminating tiers of middle management within its regional divisions—the Americas, EMEIA, and Asia-Pacific—the company started a significant transformation.
It turned out that maintaining a mid-level manager was a one-way path. Due to the rearrangement, one had to choose between retiring or accepting a senior role in a consolidated tier. EY’s goal to become “the most integrated global professional services organisation” included the modification. According to a corporate spokesman, the shift was intended to facilitate integrated and comprehensive client service; in addition to restructuring, quick and simple growth was anticipated via an enhanced decision-making mechanism.
Amazon
Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon, shifted his attention to the company’s bloated administrative levels. The e-commerce behemoth was the first to declare that it had exceeded its target of 15% middle management layoffs prior to 2025.
Jassy claims that rather than offering advantages, middle management creates bottlenecks. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said, “They want to put their fingerprint on everything, even if it’s well-intentioned.” His ideas’ main goals changed to removing onerous lines of command and giving workers more autonomy and responsibility over their jobs.
The Ford
As a leader in the automobile industry worldwide, Ford demonstrated a distinctive approach. Initially, the business reduced incentives for around 1,650 middle managers, or almost half of its managing personnel worldwide. Jim Farley, the CEO, took this action as part of his cost-cutting measures. It was obvious that future financial incentives would be carefully watched, especially for jobs that were judged unnecessary or too generous.
Starbucks
Starbucks has also planned organisational restructuring in the retail industry to enhance vertical information flow and lessen siloed thinking. Although the coffee business made it clear that baristas and store-level employees would not be impacted, the corporate reorganisation showed a change in culture with fewer levels of management.
Starbucks is considering hiring 16,000 corporate staff members globally, with 10,000 of them headquartered in the United States. Increasing the organisation’s agility and alignment is the aim. By the beginning of March, it was expected that the full extent of layoffs would be revealed.
HSBC
Changes for the massive bank HSBC were more covert and maybe just as brutal. Managers were told to reapply for their positions in the new corporate and institutional banking divisions.
Hundreds of jobs were expected to be lost as a result of the organisational reorganisation, mostly at the managing director and lower-level posts. In an effort to have fewer, more efficient layers of leadership, the bank has decided to start using the title “managing director” instead of “general manager”.
Origin in Blue
They are even controlling middle managers in the quest for private space. To increase speed and concentration, Jeff Bezos’ space business, Blue Origin, consolidated management levels and cut around 10% of its workforce.
The business acknowledged operating far too quickly in previous years and accumulating “more focus and less bureaucracy” under David Limp’s direction. In order to improve operational control rather than bureaucracy, modifications were made across the board in the engineering, R&D, and project management disciplines.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the business has eliminated 10% of its middle and management executive jobs at an all-hands meeting. In order to disguise the evident goal of increasing efficiency by eliminating needless managerial redundancies, the business claimed that restructuring had been going on since 2023.
The Bayer
Possibly one of the most significant changes was Bayer. Bill Anderson, the company’s CEO, revealed intentions to empower approximately 100,000 workers by eliminating middle management almost entirely via a new model known as “Dynamic Shared Ownership”.
The majority of the 1,362-page corporate manual was eliminated. Bayer believed that reducing bureaucracy was essential to breaking through stagnation and igniting the innovation cycle.
Facebook Meta
Mark Zuckerberg made it clear at Meta that managers could either contribute to core tasks or face mass demotion. According to reports, the Facebook division was moving to “flatten” its structure and convert former administrators into regular users.
In several instances, supervisor supervision was entirely withdrawn from certain teams, illustrating Meta’s goal to do away with management and prioritise technical in-depth knowledge above administrative micromanagement.
Intel
Lip-Bu Tan, Intel’s new CEO, told staff members that the company was making structural reforms, with a particular emphasis on middle management, which he felt was impeding advancement. Tan is prepared to make the required adjustments to strengthen Intel’s competitive advantage, while his predecessor had been too lenient.
Lloyds
According to reports, Lloyds Bank in the UK intends to let off some 2,500 workers as part of its transition to digital services. Middle-level managers like analysts and product managers would make up the majority of these reduced roles, but Bay also intends to introduce 120 new roles that better align with the bank’s digital transformation strategy.
Morrisons
Morrisons is choosing to have direct control over customer service by eliminating 1,500 middle management positions. Many businesses are reducing middle management, so this isn’t unique to Morrisons. This trend towards self-management and flatter structures is being driven by AI, agile work methods, and remote work. Reducing middle management may simplify operations and save money, but if successors aren’t found, it also raises questions about possible fatigue and supervision issues. How do intermediate managers fare? While some may get retraining or transition into other positions, businesses must reconsider how they function without them.
Microsoft
The plan indicates that Microsoft will target middle management and non-technical roles with its next layoffs in May 2025. This approach aims to reduce engineering headcount and simplify activities in project groups, similar to what Google and Amazon do. With a focus on demoting non-technical staff, the plan aims to achieve a 10:1 engineer-to-management ratio.
Recent sources state that Microsoft’s impending reorganisation plan is expected to affect not just administrative roles but also staff members who have continuously performed below expectations. In particular, the layoffs are anticipated to affect those who have had biannual performance reviews that resulted in an “impact score” of 80 or below for two years in a row. Additionally, stock awards and employee remuneration will be impacted by these assessment periods. Microsoft refuses to comment on the rumours circulating about the impending layoffs at the time this piece was put up.
