WeWork Trivia | 50 facts about the company

WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City.

Let’s find some trivia and facts about the company

1. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated 43.9 million square feet (4,080,000 m2) of space
2. Including 18.3 million square feet (1,700,000 m2) in the United States and Canada
3. In 779 locations in 39 countries
4. It had 547,000 members
5. With a weighted average commitment term of 19 months
6. In 2019 the initial public offering (IPO) of its then-parent company, The We Company, failed
7. 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”
8. The We Company filed its Form S-1 for the IPO in August 2019.
9. The following month company co-founder Adam Neumann resigned from his position as CEO and gave up majority voting control
10. He faced mounting pressure from investors based on disclosures in the S-1,
11. Amid growing investor concerns over its corporate governance, valuation, and outlook for the business, the company formally withdrew its S-1 filing
12. And announced the postponing of its IPO
13. At that time, the reported public valuation of the company was around US$10 billion
14. A reduction from the $47 billion valuation it had achieved in January and less than the $12.8 billion it had raised since 2010
15. As of August 2023, the company had a market capitalization of $326 million
16. In October 2019, Neumann received close to US$1.7 billion from stakeholder SoftBank for stepping down from WeWork’s board
17. Severing most of his ties to the company
18. He was retained as a consultant with an annual salary of $46 million
19. 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”
20. This attributed to Neumann’s questionable tenure and the easy money previously provided to him by SoftBank, led by Masayoshi Son
21. In August 2023 WeWork warned that it had ‘substantial doubt’ that it could stay in business, and might file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
22. On October 31, 2023, reports circulated that WeWork would be filing for bankruptcy “imminently”
23. This resulted in a 37% dip in share value
24. One week later, on November 6, the company officially filed for bankruptcy
25. In September 2018, the company eliminated broad-based non-compete clauses to settle a lawsuit from the Attorney General of New York.[168]
26. In October 2018, former WeWork director of culture Ruby Anaya filed a sexual harassment lawsuit claiming that at a company event in January 2018
27. A male employee grabbed her by the waist and forcibly kissed her and that in August 2017
28. A different employee grabbed Anaya from behind in a “sexual manner”
29. The suit highlighting the company’s “frat-boy culture” also alleged that co-founder Neumann “plied [her] with tequila shots during her interview with the company”
30. Shortly after this claim was made, WeWork put an end to its unlimited beer for employees and implemented a policy of only four beers per day in the New York office
31. In June 2019, WeWork was sued by the former head of compensation, Lisa Bridges, for gender-based pay discrimination
32. Particularly in granting stock options. She alleged that she was fired after discussing the issue
33. Also, in June 2019, Richard Markel, a former WeWork executive making $300,000 per year, sued the company for age discrimination after allegedly being replaced with a younger worker
34. Markel voluntarily dismissed the case in August 2019
35. In October 2019, Medina Bardhi, the former chief of staff for Adam Neumann, represented by Douglas Wigdor, sued the company over various allegations including a gender pay gap, marijuana use by company executives, and pregnancy discrimination
36. In February 2020, Ayesha Whyte, former director of employee relations, sued WeWork for gender and race discrimination, “saying she was promised a well-paying job that never materialized, all while less-qualified white people were promoted”
37. In June 2020, the lawsuit was forced into arbitration
38. In April 2020, SoftBank, then the largest shareholder of WeWork, cancelled its $3 billion tender offer to buy shares directly from some of WeWork’s major stockholders
39. Citing failure by WeWork to obtain certain regulatory approvals, new criminal and civil investigations, and government actions due to the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons for withdrawing the offer
40. WeWork then sued SoftBank
41. On May 4, 2020, former CEO Adam Neumann separately sued SoftBank for withdrawing the $3 billion tender offer
42. The lawsuits were settled in February 2021
43. On July 8, 2020, former WeWork stock plan administrator Diane Allen, and former head of diversity & inclusion Christopher Clermont, filed separate complaints against WeWork
44. Both alleged race discrimination, while Allen also alleged gender discrimination and lack of action over a sexual harassment claim
45. WeWork was also sued by several landlords for breach of contract when it failed to pay rent or for closing locations
46. In January 2021, Apple TV+ announced a new show called WeCrashed
47. The show follows the launching and fall of WeWork
48. Jared Leto plays Adam Neumann and Anne Hathaway plays Rebekah Neumann
49. In March 2021, Hulu unveiled a documentary titled WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
50. It was released April 2, 2021