Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Leads Fed Task Force Amid 3,200‑Job Layoffs

Asha Sharma, newly appointed CEO of Microsoft’s Xbox division, oversaw a restructuring that cut roughly 3,200 jobs, about 20% of the workforce, with 1,600 layoffs announced in early July and another 1,600 planned by fiscal‑year‑end. Several studios – Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games – were spun off or sold.

Three days after the cuts, the U.S. Federal Reserve named Sharma co‑lead of its new Productivity and Jobs task force, which will study how general‑purpose technologies such as artificial intelligence affect labour markets and monetary policy. She is the only sitting CEO on the panel, joining Marc Andreessen and Stanford economist Charles I. Jones.

The dual move has sparked criticism on social media and from some politicians, who allege the layoffs were aimed at replacing American workers with H‑1B visa hires. Microsoft communications chief Frank Shaw rejected those claims, noting the H‑1B figures relate to the whole company and most affected employees were not U.S. citizens.

The restructuring also hit several game studios, including id Software, Obsidian Entertainment and Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls VI, prompting concerns about project delays and morale within the gaming industry.