New Delhi, May 6 -- As layoffs become the law of the land, and artificial intelligence (AI) drives productivity, it is managers that are becoming redundant.

Let's take the recent layoffs by Coinbase for example. On Tuesday, the crypto exchange announced trimming its global workforce by 14%, or 700-odd roles. In a long post on social media platform X, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said everyone at the crypto company must be "a strong and active individual contributor." He also said that the restructuring aims to develop teams that are "fast, lean and AI-native."

But how does this spell trouble for managers? Let's look closely:

In his post, Armstrong said, "Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. ...