Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been appointed to a new Federal Reserve task force focused on jobs and productivity, a move that comes shortly after Microsoft announced substantial layoffs impacting its gaming division. The task force, comprised of private-sector leaders, will advise the U.S. central bank on emerging economic trends, particularly how new technologies like artificial intelligence are shaping the workforce.
The Federal Reserve stated that its newly formed task forces aim to ensure the institution is best positioned to achieve its objectives in a rapidly evolving economic landscape. Sharma's specific group is charged with assessing the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, such as AI, to inform the Fed's policy decisions. She will be working alongside economist Charles I. Jones and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen on this initiative.
Sharma's appointment to the Federal Reserve task force follows a period of significant restructuring within Microsoft's gaming division. In a memo to staff, she explained the rationale behind recent workforce reductions, citing a need to simplify operations and increase efficiency. Sharma noted that some parts of the company had as many as 14 layers of management, contributing to slower decision-making and blurred accountability. She also highlighted that platform teams had grown by 40% in size over the current console generation, despite a decline in player base and playtime.
Prior to her role at Xbox, Sharma held positions at companies including Instacart and Meta, working within Microsoft's Core AI group before transitioning to lead the gaming division earlier this year. Her stated goal for Xbox is to simplify its structure to better serve players.