Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been named co-lead of the US Federal Reserve's newly formed Productivity and Jobs task force. The appointment comes just days after Sharma oversaw a restructuring within Xbox that resulted in roughly 3,200 job losses across Microsoft's gaming division.
The role places Sharma in a national economic advisory position, focused on examining ways to improve labor productivity and employment conditions across US industries. The task force appears to be part of a broader Federal Reserve effort to bring private-sector executives into conversations about current shifts in the American job market.
The timing of the announcement has drawn attention from players and industry workers alike, given the contrast between Sharma's new advisory function and the decisions she recently made at Xbox. The layoffs were part of a wider cost-cutting effort within Microsoft Gaming that also touched several internal studios.
It has not been publicly detailed what the task force's first initiatives or reports will look like, nor which other corporate figures will join Sharma in the role. It also remains unconfirmed whether this new responsibility will affect her day-to-day duties leading Xbox.
The news arrives as the games industry continues to experience a sustained wave of workforce reductions, with thousands of jobs cut across multiple companies in recent years. Having an executive tied directly to those layoffs now advising on national employment policy adds an unexpected twist to that ongoing story.