AI Is Blurring the Org Chart. It’s Time to Rightsize 

In the face of inflation, geopolitical instability, and US tariffs, headcount reduction is a tantalizing method of cost savings. And it’s easy to browse sweeping news headlines about automation, see the promised capabilities of agentic AI, and think fewer people are needed. After all, an autonomous agent can negotiate with suppliers, detect manufacturing defects, and handle the vast majority of customer service interactions. 

But merely cutting roles or, on the flip side, clinging to outdated ones, isn’t the path forward. The real strategy for the workforce of the future is rightsizing.  

Keeping Humans in the Loop 

Unlike downsizing, rightsizing demands a mix of adding to, subtracting from, and transitioning of the workforce. At Zero100, we talk a lot about human-machine teams, which articulates the growing trend of seeing AI as a teammate rather than a tool. Human oversight of these digital “teammates” isn't a redundancy; it's an indispensable element. 

Even the most sophisticated agentic system operates within defined parameters and relies on structured data. So, what happens when: 

• The data fed into AI is flawed or biased? 
• An unforeseen geopolitical event completely invalidates AI's assumptions? 
• A novel ethical dilemma emerges from AI's decision-making? 
• A customer interaction requires a level of empathy or nuanced negotiation that current AI cannot replicate? 

In these scenarios, humans are the strategy makers, the ethical compass, the creative problem-solver for the truly novel, and the ultimate decision-maker when the stakes are highest.  

This isn't to say that we should safeguard outdated roles – as technology evolves, so should the nature of work. But this AI moment demands more mindful design.  

Leaders Lean into Fusion Teams 

Without strong tech-ops collaboration – what we call fusion teams – integrating an AI agent into your org chart can lead to complications.   

Take Klarna. After implementing a chatbot that replaced 700 customer service agents, the company is rehiring humans to refill experience gaps. Why? Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, admitted that the company went too far: “As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality,” he said. 

The biotech firm Moderna takes a more nuanced approach, recently announcing a fusion of its HR and tech functions. This challenges the traditional view that people are the default unit of production and instead positions task architecture as the main driver of cost, speed, and value. Moderna’s combined chief people and digital technology officer role also sends a signal that future executives will require fluency in both organizational design and AI system engineering.  

The real winners in an economic slowdown will be those that can build the sort of hybrid capability Moderna illustrates, one driving AI gains and protecting culture as automation accelerates.  

Reimagine Roles and Find Your "AI Whisperers" 

Many operational roles won't disappear – they’ll transform. For example, the inventory manager might become an AI orchestrator or a network resilience strategist. IKEA offers a strong example: After introducing an AI bot to handle customer queries, it began retraining call center staff as interior design advisors, turning automation into opportunity.  

Roles may change, with new ones being generated. Rightsizing means making strategic hires to fill critical voids. For example, we imagine companies will ramp up hiring for agentic AI architects, knowledge graph engineers, human-AI interface designers, and even AI ethicists.  

Equally, employees within the workforce who deeply understand both operations and the capabilities and limitations of AI will be even more essential. We call these individuals “Translators,” and they sit alongside two other digital personas, “Citizens and “Wizards.” Yet Translators are scarce – in 2024, their skills were featured in just 4.5% of supply chain job posts.  

Put Down the Org Chart 

For supply chain and operations leaders, the challenge isn’t just to reduce cost – it’s to deliver value. And that will mean investing in the people who can steer the system, not just serve it. Rightsizing, in the age of AI, is less about subtraction and more about recalibration.  

After all, if the last decade was about digitizing the org chart, the next one will be about dissolving its rigid boundaries.