Game over? Xbox layoffs by Indian-American CEO Asha Sharma ignites H-1B furor

TOI correspondent in Washington: A corporate restructuring at Microsoft's Xbox gaming division has become the latest battleground in America's increasingly combustible debate over immigration, visas, and who exactly counts as an "American" worker.Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma announced this week that the gaming business would eliminate about 3,200 positions during fiscal year 2027, including roughly 1,600 immediate layoffs, while spinning off or transferring four game studios to new ownership. The cuts are part of what Sharma called "the most significant restructure in Xbox history." In a lengthy memo to employees, she said the business had become bloated and overly complex, with management layers proliferating even as player growth lagged expectations and the gaming industry confronted what she described as "the most severe hardware crisis in its history."