Expedia and Uber cut layers as AI reshapes the org chart

AI-driven restructuring is now visible in corporate org charts, not just product roadmaps. On August 18, Expedia Group told product and technology staff in an internal memo that eight vice presidents and senior vice presidents would leave as the company moves to "small end-to-end squads with clear ownership" and makes AI and machine learning "part of every mission". The memo, obtained by GeekWire, said most changes were to leadership scope and reporting lines, but a small number of roles were eliminated. Expedia confirmed the departures and described the impact as "limited". Five leaders were promoted, including Debashis Saha to senior vice president of travel foundations.

Two weeks later, on September 2, Uber Technologies announced it would cut 3,300 roles, or 10% of its global workforce, according to Bloomberg News. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a company email that growth had created "more layers, more coordination, more fragmented ownership". The cuts reduce the number of managers by 20%, with some moved to individual contributor roles, an Uber spokesperson said. Uber also plans to reduce nearly half of teams with only one or two members and cut back on employees more than seven layers below the CEO. Only about 1% of employees can continue working remotely.

Consultants and HR leaders see the same trend. In an August 31 commentary, Lynn Madeley, CEO of High Performance Matters, wrote that AI is flattening hierarchies and pushing less-experienced employees into responsibility earlier, while middle managers face greater pressure. She said coaching, not training, is needed to develop judgment under pressure.

Life sciences heads of talent are telling employers to redesign work from the business problem, not to bolt AI onto existing processes. Grace Niwa, vice president of global talent acquisition at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, said by email to BioSpace on September 10 that AI's greatest opportunity is to eliminate administrative work and turn recruiting into "talent intelligence-led talent strategy". Kosta Kleitsas, vice president of operations at Dyno Therapeutics, said organizations should "rethink the workflow from first principles". He said he sees "more CPOs and CHROs play a leading role in AI transformation" and sees "a major opportunity for the HRBP role" to help redesign roles and workflows.

At startups, AI agents are starting to take on engineering, customer support, research and operational work. TechCrunch described a September 16 Disrupt session on "Hiring When AI Is a Co-Founder" where Gusto CEO Josh Reeves, Insight Partners senior vice president Michelle Johnson and Leland CEO John Koelliker would discuss what people should own versus AI. The article says early employees may increasingly be defined by judgment, ownership and ability to direct people and machines.

Malaysian data shows hiring preferences shifting. Jobstreet by SEEK reported that 70% of employers factor AI knowledge into hiring decisions, and AI-labelled job ads grew 131% year on year in 2025. The Edge Malaysia's September 21-27 weekly edition said job ads for content writers, copywriters, secretaries and graphic designers declined between 2024 and the first half of 2026, while demand for machine learning and natural language processing skills rose. PwC Malaysia's managing partner Soo Hoo Khoon Yean said competitive advantage will come from context, judgment and accountability. A Gartner survey cited in the same article found 22% of US chief human resources officers reported at least one business leader stopped hiring for entry-level roles because of AI.

For operators, the sources converge on a few watch points. Start with the work problem, then design roles. Coach early-career managers instead of relying on old training. Treat AI implementation as iterative and involve people closest to the work. Track declining junior pipelines and build new development paths as entry-level tasks shrink.