WeWork Bankruptcy: A Former Wall Street Darling’s Stunning Fall

 

WeWork was once seen as a Wall Street darling, promising to change the way people worked throughout the world. Today, the coworking behemoth declared bankruptcy in the United States.

The New York-based firm struggled to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the failure of its initial public offering in 2019.

WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, claiming that its assets and liabilities totaled between $10 billion and $50 billion. It can continue to operate while it works out a debt repayment strategy.

WeWork announced a restructuring support agreement with its stakeholders to decrease debt while further assessing its commercial office lease portfolio.

As part of the bankruptcy case, the corporation is also asking the “ability to reject the leases of certain locations,” which it claims are primarily non-operational.

WeWork announced in September that it may close more failing locations. The firm had 777 locations in 39 countries as of June 30.

After its first attempt failed, it went public in October 2021. Adam Neumann, the founder and CEO of WeWork, was fired as a result of the saga.

SoftBank of Japan came in to assist. WeWork has struggled to recoup since Neumann’s departure, despite efforts to reduce operating expenses and increase income.