WeWork sheds 4,000 jobs as funding concerns grow
- Justin Harper
- Topics: Asia-Pacific, Home Page - News, News, Restructuring, US
Billionaire investor Warren Buffet once said only when the tide goes out do you see who’s been swimming naked. And that quote seems appropriate for WeWork, the over-priced and over-hyped business that seems to have been exposed.
Once the darling of Wall Street, the coworking space giant has announced plans to cut as many as 4,000 jobs as part of an aggressive turnaround plan. WeWork is now under the control of Japan’s SoftBank, its largest shareholder. The job losses represent just under 30% of WeWork’s global workforce of around 14,000 people.
WeWork is looking to prioritise three markets — the US, Europe and Japan — and will pull back from other regions. Singapore is unaffected by WeWork’s woes and continues to expand.
It will have a total of 12 locations in Singapore by this December, which will mark its two-year anniversary in the city state. In total, WeWork has 25 locations across its Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Thailand.
A spokesman for WeWork said its portfolio in Singapore offers ‘’enterprises and businesses an integrated environment which blends community, design, culture and technology’’.
