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Xbox\u2019s first chief operating officer (COO) is leaving after the new role was created just a few months ago. Helen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today, according to an internal Xbox memo seen by The Verge<\/em>. Chiang has been at Microsoft for 21 years, serving as the head of Minecraft<\/em> before being promoted to Xbox chief operating officer in July.<\/p>\n Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced Chiang\u2019s departure in a surprisingly short memo today. \u201cHelen Chiang is leaving Microsoft today. I\u2019m grateful for her years of service and wish her well,\u201d said Sharma. As Chiang is departing today, her immediate responsibilities are being split up between other Xbox leaders for now, and Sharma notes that \u201cWe\u2019ll share more on COO leadership as plans are finalized.\u201d<\/p>\n That sounds like the COO position isn\u2019t going away after just a few months, but it\u2019s not clear why Chiang is departing after such a short stint in the role. At the time of Chiang\u2019s promotion, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma described the new chief operating officer role as a first for Xbox, \u201cwith end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services.\u201d The role was created as part of Xbox\u2019s big \u201creset.\u201d<\/p>\n Chiang reported directly to Sharma, and was promoted to \u201cbring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.\u201d<\/p>\n Chiang departs amid rumors that Xbox is preparing more layoffs this month, in November, and January. The sudden and short memo from Sharma, coupled with Chiang\u2019s responsibilities being assigned to other Xbox leaders, makes it seem like this wasn\u2019t a resignation.<\/p>\n I asked Microsoft to comment on Chiang\u2019s departure, and the company refused to discuss the circumstances of her exit. \u201cWe don\u2019t discuss individual personnel matters,\u201d says Kari Perez, Xbox vice president of communications. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful for Helen\u2019s years of service and wish her well.\u201d<\/p>\n