Everything About the Possible Impending Collapse of WeWork

Are you one of the “victims” who have been hauled back to the office by your boss?

As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, many offices and businesses have started to ask their staff to work in the office instead of working at home.

Such moves not only harm the employee (because they have less time to run errands and less flexibility to manage their own time) but also harm co-working spaces, which were already destroyed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

WeWork is one of those badly hit by the policies requiring employees to return to the office.

Things are so bad that they may be on the brink of collapse.

Here is more about the WeWork crisis.

WeWork May Be on the Brink of Collapse

Unless you are living under a rock, you most likely have heard of WeWork.

The co-working space allows you to rent a space (or desk) and work in a chill environment.

Some of the spaces are equipped with couches and cushions to add a welcoming vibe which is distinct from the rigid and bland white walls of a traditional office.

WeWork was started in New York and has since expanded all over the world, including in Singapore.

What was a rags-to-riches story as the humble start-up evolved to have a global footprint is no longer a glamourous story.

Since 2019, WeWork has been bugged with many issues. Its founder, Mr Adam Neumann, was ousted from the company in 2019 after the latter raised eyebrows with his eccentric power-hungry tendencies.

The company also experienced thousands of layoffs and had to be bailed out by Japan’s SoftBank Group. Mr Sandeep Mathrani was named the CEO with the goal of bringing the company back to life.

Unfortunately, the business saw an all-time low when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and offices were closed. Occupancy dropped to 46% at WeWork’s then-lowest point.

The company also tried to restructure its debts in 2021 to turn the company around, but its impact was limited.

The Straits Times reported that WeWork revealed that it lost billions of dollars during the first six months of 2023, largely attributable to weakening demand for its shared office spaces as people return to the office.

Now, laden with debts and a decreasing number of users, WeWork is on the brink of collapse.

It Is a Listed Company

If you have been monitoring the stock markets, you may have noticed that WeWork’s share price tanked. And it tanked quite badly.

WeWork is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (trading as NYSE: WE), but it has experienced a 97% crash in its stock price.

It is currently trading at US$0.21 (approximately S$0.28) per share.

This drop is almost double the then-low of 46% decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Well, all we can say is that this listed company may be going down sooner than later.