Danish EV firm bins all its bosses, but could a workplace without managers actually work?

Imagine walking into work tomorrow and finding out the corporate ladder has been totally dismantled. No more CEO, no more middle managers, just you and your colleagues running the show.

That’s exactly what happened at Clever, Denmark’s biggest electric-vehicle charging operator. In an interesting shake-up, the company completely ditched its traditional hierarchy. A year after removing managerial titles, the story has resurfaced because the company has just been fully integrated into energy giant Andel following a major corporate acquisition, and the unusual structure has so far survived the takeover. Instead of reinstating a traditional corporate hierarchy, the new owners have insisted on keeping the boss-free model exactly as it is.

The firm now runs with around 500 employees split into more than 50 self-managed teams. Staff make decisions together, manage budgets, handle recruitment, and follow projects from start to finish without the usual layers of middle management. Co-founder Casper Kirketerp-Møller, who dismantled his own CEO role during the multi-year transition, argues that old-fashioned hierarchies slow companies down and limit creativity, especially at a time when AI is handling more routine efficiency tasks.

Does it actually work?

Experts say it depends on the people involved. Helge Hvid, a professor at Roskilde University, noted that while flatter structures heavily appeal to younger workers who want autonomy, self-management introduces its own unique pressures. Without a clear chain of command, petty arguments and confusion over who does what can quickly become major sources of workplace stress.

Clever’s teams say the model gives them genuine ownership and eliminates internal competition, though it also requires everyone to step up rather than waiting for instructions from above. Internal audits show a staggering 92 per cent employee happiness rate, suggesting they might be onto something.

A Scandinavian experiment watched from afar

Around the world, companies have been trimming management layers since the pandemic. In the US, middle-management roles have dropped by about 6 per cent, and several tech firms have publicly complained about having too many managers.

But critics warn that removing bosses entirely can create confusion about who does what, and can easily lead to unofficial leaders emerging anyway.

For now, Clever’s approach is attracting attention because it’s rare to see a company scale up, remove every title, and stick with it, even after a major sale. Whether it becomes a model for others or stays a ‘Clever’ idea remains to be seen.