Andrew Yang's campaign lays off staff at headquarters and field offices after dismal Iowa showing

• Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang's campaign laid off staff Wednesday after a dismal showing in the Iowa caucus and with the New Hampshire Primary less than a week away.
• Dozens of staff may have been let go. The campaign said this had been the plan all along.
• After failing to qualify for the televised debate ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, Yang will be on stage Friday night for ABC's debate in Manchester, N.H.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang's campaign laid off staff Wednesday after a dismal showing in the Iowa caucus and with the New Hampshire Primary less than a week away.

The bulk of the layoffs came in the digital and communications departments, as well as in policy, according to a source familiar with the move, who described the result as an abrupt surprise to staff. Yang only garnered about 1% of Iowa's state delegates, according to the latest results released Thursday.

At a campaign stop at Plymouth State University Thursday afternoon, campaign manager Zach Graumann confirmed the layoffs hit the Iowa staff and some parts of the campaign headquarters.

"This was the plan all along," Graumann said.

Graumann said he would send Insider a specific number of layoffs, but did not respond to a further request for comment after Yang left the event.

The Yang campaign reported 230 staff members on its payroll at the end of the fourth fiscal quarter ending last December, up substantially from 70 at the end of the third quarter in the fall, according to FEC filings.

A POLITICO report citing staff who lost their jobs put the layoffs to be in the dozens.

By the end of 2019, Yang's campaign had an 87 percent burn rate with $4.2 million in cash on hand, according to FEC filings.

Graumann said the layoffs are normal for any campaign moving on from Iowa.

After failing to qualify for the televised debate ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, Yang will be on stage Friday night for ABC's debate in Manchester, N.H.