Overview
- The Federal Reserve named Asha Sharma co‑lead of the Productivity and Jobs task force on July 9, joining venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and economist Charles I. Jones.
- Three days earlier, Sharma announced a major Xbox restructuring that will eliminate roughly 3,200 roles across the gaming division, with about 1,600 layoffs taking effect immediately.
- The task force is charged with assessing how general‑purpose technologies, especially artificial intelligence, affect output, jobs, wages and the data the Fed uses to set policy.
- Sharma’s selection has prompted wide public and social‑media criticism over timing and optics, and reporting notes she appears to be the only sitting CEO among the named external co‑leads.
- The five Fed task forces will work with Reserve staff but operate independently and are expected to submit evidence‑based recommendations to the Federal Open Market Committee by year‑end, a process that could influence how the Fed gauges productivity and inflation going forward.