Both parties hire hundreds of staff during an election who are subsequently let go once the election is over. But the DNC is currently taking fire for not only laying off hundreds of temporary workers but for doing the same to some permanent employees who were told last Wednesday that Friday would be their last day.

The DNC dismissed hundreds of employees this past week.

Most people let go were only hired to work through the election but some were considered "permanent" employees that stay on between election cycles.

Many DNC employees felt blindsided by the extent of the layoffs and felt that their managers had not been upfront with them about the possibility, eight current and recently fired DNC aides told Axios.

A NY Times reporter tweeted that the DNC went from 680 employees down to 200 last Friday. Most of those were seasonal workers who expected their jobs to end but a few were not. Now the DNC staff union is expressing outrage.

DNC leadership refuses to disclose to the DNC Staff Union the full extent of these layoffs and whether additional cuts are planned.

— DNC Staff Union (@dncstaffunion) November 18, 2024

Chair Jaime Harrison and Executive Director Sam Cornale refuse to address their staff face to face and have offered no explanation for how these cuts were decided.

— DNC Staff Union (@dncstaffunion) November 18, 2024

Chair Jaime Harrison and Executive Director Sam Cornale refuse to address their staff face to face and have offered no explanation for how these cuts were decided.

— DNC Staff Union (@dncstaffunion) November 18, 2024

We want to make it clear, however, that the principles we champion on the national stage have been disregarded in our own workplace. The process of regaining the trust of the American people must start with living our party’s values.

— DNC Staff Union (@dncstaffunion) November 18, 2024

One staff member told Axios, "If they want to be the party of the working people they should have more respect for their workers."

The underlying issue is that the Harris camp raised about $1.5 billion and spent all of it and more in 15 weeks.

Vice President Kamala Harris spent a remarkable $1.5 billion in her hyper-compressed 15-week presidential campaign. But in the days since losing to President-elect Donald J. Trump, her operation has faced questions internally and externally over where exactly all that cash went.

But it appears that spending $100 million per week wasn't enough because there is now concern that the campaign is going to leave behind a lot of debt. They are still sending out fundraising emails even after Harris lost the election.

Since her loss, the Harris operation has pressed supporters for more cash with desperate-sounding solicitations, stirring fears about post-election debts. “Is there anything we can say?” came one email asking for cash last Monday...

Donations made after the election to the “Harris Fight Fund” are being funneled to the Democratic National Committee, officials said.

No one is saying how much debt we're talking about. Since they are still raising money and also still getting invoices from campaign contractors, it's anyone's guess where this will end up. But DNC Chair Jaime Harrison is said to have raised concerns about the Harris camp's spending. The fact that they are still asking for funds combined with the unexpected layoffs suggests they are worried about a substantial amount of debt, all of which the DNC will be left trying to pay off before they can even think about raising money for the 2026 midterms.

How do you spend $1.5 billion in 15 weeks? A lot of it appears to have gone into TV ads and consultants. One firm (SKD Knickerbocker?) is said to have earned $300 million during the campaign. But as we all know, it didn't pay off. The best that can be said is that Harris' losses were less extreme in swing states where most of that money was spent than in the rest of the country. But even that leads to an uncomfortable conclusion.

...those results were double-edged, politically. They suggested that the ticket she led was so unpopular that it took an enormous campaign just to limit her losses.

That's the bottom line. They spent $1.5 billion and put themselves in an unspecific amount of debt just to keep Harris from losing quite as badly as she might have. She was not a popular candidate and now the DNC is paying the price.