WeWork

WeWork Inc.
Company typePrivate limited company
IndustryCommercial real estate
Founded2010; 14 years ago (2010)
Founders
Headquarters
New York City
,
U.S.
Number of locations
154 locations in 35 countries (2024)
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
John Santora (CEO)
ServicesCoworking
RevenueIncrease US$3.245 billion (2022)
Increase −US$1.59 billion (2022)
Increase −US$2.03 billion (2022)
Total assetsDecrease US$17.86 billion (2022)
Total equityDecrease −US$3.67 billion (2022)
Members547,000 (December 2022)
Number of employees
c. 4,300 (December 2022)
ParentYardi Systems 60%
Websitewework.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2][3]
WeWork location in Jongno Tower
WeWork location, 1 University Avenue, Toronto
WeWork location on Rhode Island Avenue in Washington, D.C.
The kitchen area at the WeWork location on Broad Street in Manhattan
WeWork location in San Francisco

WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated 43.9 million square feet (4,080,000 m2) of space, including 18.3 million square feet (1,700,000 m2) in the United States and Canada, in 779 locations in 39 countries, and had 547,000 members, with a weighted average commitment term of 19 months.[1]

In 2019, the initial public offering (IPO) of its then-parent company, The We Company, failed. The Wall Street Journal noted that, on the release of its public prospectus in August 2019, the company was "besieged with criticism over its governance, business model, and ability to turn a profit".[4]

The We Company filed its Form S-1 for the IPO in August 2019.[5] The following month, facing mounting pressure from investors based on disclosures in the S-1, company co-founder Adam Neumann resigned from his position as CEO and gave up majority voting control. Amid growing investor concerns over its corporate governance, valuation, and outlook for the business, the company formally withdrew its S-1 filing and announced the postponement of its IPO. At that time, the reported public valuation of the company was around US$10 billion,[6] a reduction from the $47 billion valuation it had achieved in January and less than the $12.8 billion it had raised since 2010.[7] As of December 2023, the company had a market capitalization of $21 million.[8]

In October 2019, Neumann received close to US$1.7 billion from stakeholder SoftBank for stepping down from WeWork's board and severing most of his ties to the company.[9] He was retained as a consultant with an annual salary of $46 million.[10]

The New York Times described the company's failed effort to go public and its related turmoil as "an implosion unlike any other in the history of start-ups", which it attributed to Neumann's questionable tenure and the easy money previously provided to him by SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son.[11] In August 2023 WeWork warned that it had 'substantial doubt' that it could stay in business, and might file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On October 31, 2023, reports circulated that WeWork would be filing for bankruptcy "imminently", which resulted in a 37% dip in share value.[12][13][14] One week later, on November 6, the company officially filed for bankruptcy,[15] which was described by ABC as emblematic of the "excesses of business startup culture."[16]

  1. ^ a b "WeWork Inc. 2022 Form 10-K Annual Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 29, 2023.
  2. ^ C, Priyamvada; Deka, Kannaki (March 17, 2023). "WeWork reaches deals to cut debt, extend maturities". Reuters.
  3. ^ Rizzi, Nicholas (May 16, 2023). "WeQuit: WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani Stepping Down to Join Private Equity Firm". Observer Media.
  4. ^ Brown, Elliot (September 19, 2019). "'This is not the way everybody behaves': How Adam Neumann's over-the-top style built WeWork". MSN. The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference forms1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Palmer, Annie (September 30, 2019). "WeWork pulls IPO filing". CNBC. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference frosty was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference reuters_Apr2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference farrell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Kimball, Whitney (November 8, 2019). "Swindled WeWorkers Ask for Dignity". Gizmodo.
  11. ^ Chozick, Amy (November 2, 2019). "Adam Neumann and the Art of Failing Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Gale A604582176. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019 – via Cengage.
  12. ^ Krouse, Sarah (November 1, 2023). "WeWork Plans to File for Bankruptcy as Early as Next Week". The Wall Street Journal. Event occurs at 07:46AM. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  13. ^ McDonald, Zarina; Nanji, Noor (November 1, 2023). "WeWork's shares plunge 37% on bankruptcy reports". BBC News. Event occurs at 07:46AM. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  14. ^ Isidore, Chris (October 31, 2023). "WeWork: reports say firm is filing for bankruptcy". CNN. Event occurs at 07:46AM. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  15. ^ Thorbecke, Catherine (November 7, 2023). "WeWork files for bankruptcy | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  16. ^ "What caused the WeWork bankruptcy, and why does it matter?". American Broadcasting Company News Division. November 7, 2023.