Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Cuts 3,200 Jobs as Microsoft’s 2,273 H-1B Approvals Draw Fire
Updated
Updated · News18 · Jul 11
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma Cuts 3,200 Jobs as Microsoft’s 2,273 H-1B Approvals Draw Fire
3 articles · Updated · News18 · Jul 11
Summary
1,600 Xbox employees were laid off on July 6, with another 1,600 cuts planned over 12 months under Asha Sharma’s restructuring of the gaming unit.
Sharma said the overhaul is meant to fix a business with margins 3-10 times lower than comparable platforms and publishers, part of a broader Microsoft restructuring affecting about 4,800 jobs globally.
2,273 Microsoft H-1B approvals in 2026 turned the layoffs into a political flashpoint, though the company said 1,533 were renewals and 740 were transfers already in the US, not Xbox-specific hiring.
Microsoft said the cuts were based on business needs rather than visa status and that H-1B workers were also affected, while conservative critics accused big tech of replacing American workers.
The dispute has widened beyond Xbox because Microsoft is a major H-1B user and the Trump administration is already scrutinizing the visa program, amplifying backlash against Sharma.