Airbnb CEO Says Pure Managers Will Be Obsolete; AI Era Demands Hands-On Business Capabilities

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky recently stated that pure managers who only oversee people without engaging in hands-on work will become obsolete. He believes managers should focus on managing work itself rather than just people management—for example, a legal manager should personally participate in case law research.

Several tech companies have followed this trend: Coinbase announced a 14% layoff and eliminated pure management roles to promote a flat structure; Block and Meta also emphasize the value of flat teams.

Notably, Airbnb has no current layoff plans, but Chesky pointed out that in the AI era, managers need to be 'player-coaches' who work alongside their teams on business tasks.