WeWork to cut one-fifth of headcount in restructuring after US$9.5 billion SoftBank rescue
- The cuts began weeks ago in regions around the world and continued this week in the US, compan says without giving more details
WeWork said it has laid off 2,400 of its approximately 12,500 employees to “create a more efficient organisation,” the company said in a statement Thursday. The cuts began weeks ago in regions around the world and continued this week in the US, it added, without giving more details.
In an email to employees earlier this week, executive chairman Marcelo Claure said jobs would be eliminated in areas that “do not directly support our core business goals,” referring to WeWork’s main office-leasing operations.
Additionally, about 1,000 cleaning and maintenance jobs in the US and Canada are being outsourced to another firm.
The New York-based company is scaling back the explosive growth of co-working spaces in 122 cities around the world while racking up massive losses that ultimately put off Wall Street investors and doomed its plan for an initial public offering.
The stumble also led WeWork to close down some side businesses, and scaling back projects started under the grandiose vision of ousted co-founder Adam Neumann, including a Manhattan junior school and the shared residential offering WeLive.