Xbox CEO joins Fed’s AI jobs task force days after announcing 3,200 layoffs

Days after announcing the largest restructuring in Xbox history, CEO Asha Sharma has joined a Federal Reserve task force examining how artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies could reshape jobs, productivity, and the broader economy.

On Thursday, the Fed He said Sharma will serve on the Productivity and Jobs Task Force, which will study the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, as part of the central bank’s approach to monetary policy.

Sharma, who previously worked in Microsoft’s Core AI group prior to the Xbox acquisition, joins Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Charles I. Jones, a professor of economics at Stanford University who is currently on leave at Anthropic.

“The American economy has changed dramatically over the past generation, and never more so than now,” Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said. “Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers’ methods, analytical tools and policy approaches can be improved.”

According to the Fed, the five task forces will bring together outside experts in economics, business and central banks to review how the central bank handles monetary policy. In addition to productivity and jobs, the groups will examine the Fed’s communications, balance sheet policy, economic data, and inflation frameworks.

The appointment comes as Sharma oversees what she called “the most significant restructuring in Xbox history,” with plans to reduce the division’s workforce by about 3,200 employees during FY27. The cuts begin with the elimination of 1,600 roles, while four Xbox studios will be left for new management.

In a letter Sharma told employees earlier this week that Xbox’s business is “not healthy,” citing lower profit margins compared to similar platforms and publishing companies, a smaller install base for the ninth-generation console, and higher costs.

“I know this is painful. These changes will directly impact the people who poured their creativity into building Xbox,” she wrote. “Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were hired here, or looked to us because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.”

Sharma said Xbox’s investments in Game Pass, cross-platform releases and its broader content portfolio created value but did not grow as quickly as expected. As the business expanded, she said Xbox added more teams and investments while its core business weakened.

“We should reset the Xbox,” Sharma wrote.

Sharma’s appointment comes amid growing scrutiny of how artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce, as technology companies invest heavily in automation while restructuring teams. In April, Snap reduced its prices by approx 1000 job opportunitiesapproximately 16% of its employees, as it increased its focus on AI-powered tools, while Meta also said it would reduce headcount by 10%, approximately 8000 job opportunitiesas CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushes the company to delve deeper into artificial intelligence.

In June, ca Fired AI-based unemployment tracker to monitor whether automation is contributing to job losses, while the Fed He studies Earlier this year, I found that the growth of programming jobs in the US slowed significantly after the launch of ChatGPT, with estimates suggesting that nearly 500,000 developer jobs that would otherwise have existed were never filled.