Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, plans to lay off “hundreds” of campaign staffers from field offices across the country, according to The New York Times.
“It will be hundreds of staff members,” Sanders told the Times. “We have had a very large staff, which was designed to deal with 50 states in this country; 40 of the states are now behind us. So we have had a great staff, great people.”
Sanders lost four out of five primary races on Tuesday evening, sparking rumors that the candidate will downsize his campaign and redirect his focus toward pushing frontrunner Hillary Clinton further to the left.
For now, the senator will concentrate on winning the delegate-heavy primary in California—the most populous state in the country.
“California will have the most staff,” Sanders said. “Symbolically and in terms of delegates, if we can win the largest state in this country, that will send a real message to the American people and to the delegates that this is a campaign that is moving in the direction it should.”