The Valley Current®: Is a Significant Recession Inevitable as a Result of AI Replacing Middle Management?

AI may not trigger an economic collapse, but it is already changing who gets hired, who moves up, and who captures the gains. In this episode of The Valley Current®, host Jack Russo examines how banks and other major employers are using agentic AI to automate work once handled by junior professionals, advisors, and middle managers. The result may be less a sudden wave of layoffs than a quieter squeeze: fewer entry-level jobs, shrinking management ranks, and a widening divide between asset owners and wage earners. Jack also explores a longer-term problem for law, accounting, and other regulated professions: if AI removes the bottom rungs of the career ladder, where will tomorrow's experienced leaders come from? A recession is far from inevitable, but the labor market may already be undergoing a much deeper restructuring.