Bernie Sanders Is Said to Plan Large Layoff From Campaign Staff

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Senator Bernie Sanders plans to lay off at least half his campaign staff Wednesday as his battered presidential bid continues on despite Hillary Clinton’s being declared the presumptive Democratic nominee, according to two people close to the campaign.

Many of those being laid off are advance staff members who often help with campaign logistics, as well as field staff members who have been working to garner votes for the senator, according to both a campaign official and a former campaign staff member, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity. Some campaign workers may move into jobs at Mr. Sanders’s Senate office, but others will be terminated, they said.

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The changes come as Mr. Sanders defiantly continues to campaign while Mrs. Clinton celebrates her acquisition of a majority of the delegates needed for the nomination.

Mr. Sanders insists that he is prepared to challenge Mrs. Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in July, holding out hope that his lobbying of superdelegates — party officials and state leaders who cast their final votes at the convention — will siphon support from Mrs. Clinton as he makes his case that he is a stronger candidate against Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.

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Mr. Sanders’s spokesman, Michael Briggs, said Tuesday that Mr. Sanders planned to travel to his home in Vermont on Wednesday and then travel to Washington on Thursday. Campaign aides say he plans to hold rallies in Washington, the last contest on June 14.

It was unclear how the layoffs will affect his Washington operation.

Word of the cutbacks came a day after The Associated Press declared Mrs. Clinton the presumptive Democratic nominee. And Tuesday night Mrs. Clinton won a commanding victory in the New Jersey primary, widening her delegate lead over Mr. Sanders.

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