Xbox chief tapped to advise Federal Reserve on employment after cutting thousands of jobs

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been appointed to a new Federal Reserve advisory task force focused on employment and productivity, just days after Microsoft's gaming division laid off 3,200 workers and shut down multiple game studios, according to PC Gamer and Game Developer. The appointment is part of five new task forces the US central banking system created to evaluate and improve its operations, led by external advisers including economics professors, AI investors, and corporate executives.

PC GamerFederal Reserve appoints Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to lead employment task force after recent layoffs of 3,200 workers

"The move is framed as part of the Fed's commitment to price stability and maximum employment, but the appointment has drawn scrutiny given Sharma's recent large-scale layoffs at Microsoft's gaming division."

The timing has triggered sharp criticism. Game Developer noted that Sharma becomes "the face of 2026's largest video game industry layoff while simultaneously joining a body meant to advise on employment and the impact of AI on jobs." The layoffs affected workers at Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, and Compulsion Games, among other studios, making it the most significant cut in the sector this year.

"The timing has sparked controversy, as Sharma becomes the face of 2026's largest video game industry layoff while simultaneously joining a body meant to advise on employment and the impact of AI on jobs."

The Federal Reserve's task force on employment and productivity is supposed to advise on broad economic conditions, but putting a tech executive who just eliminated thousands of positions in charge of that brief has struck many observers as tone-deaf, according to the coverage. The other task forces address price stability, financial markets, and other areas, with Sharma's role the most conspicuous given the whiplash between her corporate decisions and her new public mandate.