In an unexpected crossover between the gaming industry and U.S. monetary policy, the Federal Reserve has named Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to lead a new task force focused on employment and productivity. The appointment comes just three days after Sharma announced a massive restructuring at Xbox, which includes plans to lay off roughly 3,200 employees by the end of the 2027 fiscal year.
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh announced the creation of five new task forces aimed at evaluating the Fed's operations, citing the need to adapt to a changing economy. Sharma will serve as one of three leaders for the Productivity and Jobs task force, alongside Stanford economics professor Charles I. Jones—currently on leave at Anthropic—and tech investor Marc Andreessen.
The 'Xbox Reset' and the Fed
The timing of the appointment has drawn attention due to the scale of the reorganization currently underway at Microsoft’s gaming division. According to reports, the 'reset' plan has left remaining developers concerned about the long-term stability of some of the company’s most significant brands. As part of the transition, the operations for Mojang and King—two of Xbox's most valuable assets—will now report directly to Sharma.
The Fed’s mandate for this specific task force is to assess the economic impact of general-purpose technologies, with a specific focus on artificial intelligence. Warsh stated that the goal is to inform the Federal Reserve's policy judgments by considering whether existing analytical tools and approaches can be improved.
Task Force Priorities
"The US economy has changed significantly over the last generation, and never more so than right now," Warsh said in a press release. "Each task force will carefully consider whether policymakers' means and methods, analytical tools, and policy approaches can be improved upon."
While Sharma manages the internal Xbox restructuring, the Federal Reserve has indicated that the work of these task forces will be made available through periodic updates on the official Federal Reserve website. Whether the dual responsibilities will impact the timeline of the announced layoffs remains the primary question for employees and industry observers alike.