Asha Sharma to co-lead US Federal Reserve's Productivity and Jobs task force

The US Federal Reserve has appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to co-lead its Productivity and Jobs task force, which will assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies including AI. The announcement follows Sharma's decision to cut 3,200 Xbox jobs by 2027, a move she says is aimed at a bigger future for the gaming division.

Asha Sharma to co-lead US Federal Reserve's Productivity and Jobs task force Division will assess economic impact of new general-purpose tech, including AI; announcement follows sweeping layoffs at Xbox affecting 3,200 workers The United States Federal Reserve has appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to co-lead its Productivity and Jobs task force. As detailed in a press release https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20260709a.htm , the Federal Reserve has established five task forces to "examine areas central to the broad conduct of monetary policy." Each task force will be co-led by external advisers, including economists, business leaders, and former central bank practitioners. Sharma will co-lead the Productivity and Jobs division with Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Charles I. Jones, professor of economics at Stanford University, who is currently on leave at AI firm Anthropic. This task force will "assess the economic impact of new general-purpose technologies, including artificial intelligence, to inform the Federal Reserve's policy judgments." Sharma's appointment follows the announcement of significant layoffs at Xbox https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-to-reduce-workforce-by-3200-five-studios-to-be-divested , with 3,200 positions to be eliminated by the end of 2027. Studios affected by the cuts https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-layoffs-july-2026 include ZeniMax Online Studios, Id Software, Bethesda Game Studios, and Obsidian. "These changes are about a bigger future for Xbox, not a smaller one," said Sharma. "The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we've seen before. This year, we'll invest as much in Xbox as we ever have, but we'll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making Xbox where the world plays and creates." Sharma succeeded Phil Spencer as Xbox CEO https://www.gamesindustry.biz/report-phil-spencer-and-samantha-bond-leaving-xbox earlier this year, having joined Microsoft in 2024 as president of CoreAI. Since taking the role, Sharma has implemented key leadership changes https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-announces-leadership-changes-as-it-stops-development-of-gaming-copilot-for-console , discontinued Gaming Copilot https://www.gamesindustry.biz/xbox-announces-leadership-changes-as-it-stops-development-of-gaming-copilot-for-console , reduced the price of Game Pass https://www.gamesindustry.biz/microsoft-cuts-game-pass-pricing-and-removes-call-of-duty-as-day-one-launch-title-in-response-to-a-lot-of-feedback , and rebranded Microsoft Gaming as Xbox https://www.gamesindustry.biz/microsoft-gaming-reverts-to-xbox-branding .