The sender of the message just removed a CC'ed team member from the thread. If this happens explicitly ("moving James to Bcc") this can mean that "James" is no longer relevant to the conversation. However, if the removal isn't accompanied by an explicit "handoff" this may reflect some problematic social dynamics on the customer's end:
If a person holding a senior position has been abruptly removed from the conversation, it might reflect the existence of unhealthy social tensions between the sender and the removed person. While this isn't necessarily the case, active exploration of the decision making power of the main point of contact should be considered.
If a person holding a junior position has been abruptly removed from the conversation, butthe communication continues with a (more) senior person, it may indicate some progress with the deal at hand - despite the tensions.