AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City at the North Carolina Democratic Party's Blue NC Celebration in February.
- Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City closed the rest of his campaign offices on Friday, which he had promised to keep open throughout the 2020 election whether or not he became the Democratic nominee.
- Instead, he will transfer $18 million to the Democratic National Committee.
- The decision has left hundreds of staffers without a job as the coronavirus pandemic puts possibly millions of Americans in jeopardy.
- "You're dropping a thousand people into an amazing amount of insecurity at the worst possible time," a former staffer told Business Insider on Friday.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York City closed the rest of his campaign offices on Friday, choosing to transfer $18 million to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) instead.
When Bloomberg entered the presidential race late last year, he had promised to keep his campaign to defeat President Donald Trump running even if he himself never became the Democratic nominee.
The $18 million he is sending the DNC had been the remaining amount of money he had pledged to defeating Trump.
Bloomberg ended his own candidacy after a miserable performance in the March 3 Super Tuesday contests, closing all of his campaign offices except those in six key swing states to aid the Democratic cause.
Less than three weeks later, he has decided to close those offices as well, leaving hundreds of staffers unemployed as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the nation. The economic downturn brought about by the outbreak is already putting millions of Americans' jobs at risk.
Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters
One former Bloomberg campaign worker said the transfer of the funds to the Democratic National Committee couple signals that Bloomberg could be eyeing the job of DNC chair Tom Perez, pictured.
Shortly after the announcement was made, Business Insider spoke with a former Bloomberg staffer who had worked in a Minnesota office, who was laid off in the initial round of cuts earlier in the month.
He said he felt for those losing their jobs today.
"It's terrible," he said. "You're talking about someone who has limitless resources and for everyone else we're heading into an unprecedented time," referring to Bloomberg.
"This is the worst pandemic in 100 years and you're dropping a thousand people into an amazing amount of insecurity at the worst possible time. It really just sucks."
He added: "When you talk about the 'compassionate billionaire'... you can't sell me on it anymore."
The former staffer also questioned Bloomberg's intentions in writing a check to the DNC.
"This is setting the table for him to become the new DNC chair - that's just my initial thought. Don't be surprised in the next year if Tom Perez is replaced," the source said, referring to the current chair.
The Minnesota staffer and another former Bloomberg campaign organizer in Virginia said they were on a conference call announcing the decision.
During the call, staffers were encouraged to apply for Democratic Coordinated Campaigns across the country, but the Virginia staffer said there was "no guarantee of a position."
"We were given no more information than this; they hung up immediately without allowing for any questions or further elaboration," the former staffer added.
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