Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Appointed Co-Leader of Federal Reserve Task Force on Jobs
The appointment places a leader overseeing major job cuts in a role analyzing technology's impact on employment, a contrast that outlets like PC Gamer and Game Developer have highlighted.
Key Facts
- The Federal Reserve Board appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma as co-leader of its 'Productivity and Jobs' task force on July 10, 2026.
- Sharma will work with Stanford professor Charles I. Jones and Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Marc Andreessen on the task force.
- The task force will analyze the impact of AI and other general-purpose technologies on the economy and employment to inform Federal Reserve policy.
- Sharma had announced plans to cut approximately 3,200 jobs at Xbox by the end of fiscal year 2027.
- The appointment came days after the layoff announcement, a timing noted by PC Gamer and Game Developer.
Reporting from 2 sources: GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
The Federal Reserve Board has appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma as co-leader of its new "Productivity and Jobs" task force. The appointment, announced on July 10, 2026, places Sharma alongside Stanford University economist Charles I. Jones and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. The task force is tasked with analyzing how emerging general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, affect the U.S. economy and employment, with the goal of informing Federal Reserve monetary policy. The appointment comes just days after Sharma outlined plans to cut approximately 3,200 positions in the Xbox division by the end of fiscal year 2027. That restructuring also involves spinning off studios Double Fine and Compulsion Games as independent entities, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are to be transferred to new owners. Overseas outlets including PC Gamer and Game Developer have noted the timing of the appointment relative to the layoff announcement.
The task force's other co-leaders are Stanford University's Charles I. Jones, an economist specializing in productivity and growth, and Marc Andreessen, co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The group's stated purpose is to study how general-purpose technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, reshape the economy and labor markets, and to feed those findings into the Federal Reserve's policy decisions. Sharma's appointment follows her July 6 announcement of a major Xbox restructuring that includes cutting roughly 3,200 jobs by the end of fiscal 2027. That plan also calls for studios Double Fine and Compulsion Games to become independent, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will be sold to new owners. The close timing between the layoff plan and the Federal Reserve role has drawn commentary from industry media, with PC Gamer and Game Developer both noting the juxtaposition.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.