US Congressman Demands Removal of Xbox Head Asha Sharma from Fed Advisory Group

Riley Moore doesn't quite understand how a person who laid off more than 3,000 Microsoft employees can address labor and productivity issues.

US Representative Riley Moore of West Virginia sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh demanding the removal of Xbox head Asha Sharma from the Fed's working group on productivity and employment. The reason for this was the ongoing layoffs of employees in Microsoft's gaming division: the company previously announced the dismissal of about 4,000 people, and then reported plans to cut another 3,200 employees in fiscal year 2027.

Moore questioned the appropriateness of Sharma's appointment to an advisory body that deals with labor productivity and employment issues. According to the politician, the head of a company carrying out large-scale staff reductions should not participate in developing recommendations on these issues. He also previously criticized Microsoft for laying off American workers while simultaneously using the H-1B visa program to hire foreign specialists.

Asha Sharma, who took over Microsoft Gaming this year, is one of the co-chairs of the Federal Reserve's working group on productivity and employment. This group studies the impact of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, on the US economy and analyzes how they might affect central bank decisions. Along with Sharma, its members include Stanford University economist Charles I. Jones and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.