Carpenter Fisher Hartman Racing parted ways with eight employees Monday morning, and according to CFH co-owner Ed Carpenter, the move was a financial necessity.

“I wouldn’t say it’s downsizing; it’s more just where we are today and managing the business the best we can and making smart decisions for the partners we have,” Carpenter told RACER. “You don’t look forward to days like this; it’s something you never want to do, but looking at the big picture, and maintaining the health of the organization, sometimes you have to make hard decisions.”

CFH is owned by Carpenter, Sarah Fisher and her husband Andy O’Gara, and Wink Hartman. Among the eight to leave CFH, two were members of the O’Gara family.

Looking to 2016, CFH recently signed two-time race winner Josef Newgarden to an extension that will see the Tennessean return in the No. 67 Chevy. The status of the No. 20 Chevy Carpenter shared with Italy’s Luca Filippi has been a source of speculation, and questions of whether it would continue to race at every round, or reduce to a schedule of ovals for Carpenter have been raised.

The 2013 and 2014 Indy 500 polesitter says Monday’s layoffs are not an indicator of greater problems behind the scenes at CFH as the team prepares for a new season.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re not doing anything next year; it just means we’re tightening the belts a little bit and evaluating where we are,” Carpenter said. “The goal and the plan at this point is to have a similar look and feel to what we had this year. As of today, we have a few holes to fill, but it’s November, and we have plenty of time left.”

Through his Hartman Oil company, Wink Hartman has provided steady funding for Newgarden’s No. 67 entry since he joined the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2012. As Hartman told RACER‘s Robin Miller, recent losses in the oil industry have required a reduction in that support, and with some sponsorship deficits to address, CFH has been searching for new commercial partners to join the program.

“I can’t say with 100 percent certainly we’ll be one thing or another, but I would say even with a tough day like today, I feel like we have great momentum for growth and bringing new partners in,” Carpenter said. “Things take time to play out. Fuzzy’s continues to be a great partner; it’s not decided what races they’ll be on what car. They’ll be on my car when I’m driving it, but beyond that, it’s still a pretty clean canvas and we’ve got some time to work that out.”