By Gabriel Soto
When people imagine automation, they usually picture robots replacing factory workers, or algorithms taking over call centers. The popular storyline is frontline roles versus machines. But a quieter transformation is underway—one that strikes at the “middle office,” the layer of analysts, coordinators, and specialists who keep companies running behind the scenes.
These are not the jobs that grab headlines. They’re the project managers who translate strategy into deadlines. The compliance officers who ensure reports are filed correctly. The junior accountants reconciling invoices. Individually, their work rarely makes the company newsletter. Collectively, they are the connective tissue—the glue—that keeps organizations functioning. And AI is coming for them.
The Hidden Layer of Work
Economists have long tracked “middle-skill” jobs hollowing out under automation. But most research focused on roles like manufacturing operators or clerical staff. What’s different now is the sophistication of machine learning. Large language models can draft compliance memos; predictive analytics can flag fraudulent transactions; workflow platforms can auto-generate project plans from a few bullet points.
In other words, the software is no longer confined to the repetitive frontlines. It’s climbing the organizational ladder, targeting tasks once thought too judgment-heavy or nuanced to automate.
Numbers Behind the Shift
A recent study by McKinsey estimates that by 2030, up to 30 percent of hours worked in “support function” roles could be automated. That translates to tens of millions of positions globally. Unlike factory closures, these reductions will be dispersed across industries—making them less visible, but no less consequential.
Labor market data already shows hints of the shift. In the United States, job postings for “project coordinator” and “operations analyst” have stagnated even as overall hiring has rebounded. Meanwhile, demand for AI-fluent roles—prompt engineers, model auditors, data pipeline managers—has surged.
Why This Shock Feels Different
The middle office has traditionally been the “safe zone.” If frontline jobs were vulnerable to machines and senior leadership to strategy, middle-office roles offered stability through complexity. They required juggling people and processes, not just physical tasks.
AI undermines that bargain. It doesn’t need to rest between meetings or lose track of a compliance checklist. It can analyze thousands of contracts simultaneously, something no human paralegal could achieve. And unlike outsourcing waves of the past, which shifted jobs to new geographies, this is a technological displacement that ripples across borders.
The Human Cost of Invisible Jobs
The challenge isn’t just economic. Middle-office jobs have been stepping-stones for career mobility. A junior operations analyst might rise into management; a compliance associate could pivot into law. If those entry points disappear, so does a critical ladder of advancement.
Consider a mid-sized logistics firm: AI tools now handle scheduling, customs paperwork, and invoice verification. The work is faster and cheaper. But the junior staff who once cut their teeth on those tasks no longer have a training ground. The “learning by doing” that built careers is evaporating.
What Comes Next
The solution is not to resist automation altogether—it’s to redirect it. That means rethinking how companies structure apprenticeship and mentorship. If AI takes over the rote parts of analysis, firms must consciously invest in giving younger workers exposure to the strategic parts earlier.
Governments, too, have a role. Just as trade adjustment programs once softened the blow of globalization, new policies may be needed for the AI transition: reskilling subsidies, portable benefits for displaced professionals, incentives for firms to retain human oversight.
The middle office rarely earns headlines. But its meltdown could reshape the workforce as profoundly as the factory closures of the 20th century. The question is whether companies—and societies—see it coming in time to catch those who hold the glue.
