Flatter, Faster, Smarter: The New Shape of Work

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 14:24:00 -0700

Two headlines collided in my feed this afternoon. One from The Wall Street Journal noted that several companies, despite strong profits and growth, are cutting headcount. Another, from Bloomberg, reported that Microsoft was preparing sweeping layoffs in its sales, marketing, and customer-facing teams.

Layoffs in times of plenty? The easy answer is AI. But the real story is more complicated.

AI is reshaping the workplace, but I believe these co-occurrences are part of a pattern that hints at something deeper than automation replacing human roles. We’re in the middle of a cultural shift in perspectives on productivity, the structure of organizations, and the value of human work. We are perhaps witnessing a reset, rather than a preemptive strike against recession. I believe it traces back to COVID.

Workforce Transformation on The Findings Report

Flatter, Faster, Smarter: The New Shape of Work