Disgraced WeWork Founder and Ex-CEO Adam Neumann Calls Bankruptcy Filing 'Challenging to Watch' and 'Disappointing' WeWork filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. and plans to follow suit in Canada.
By Emily Rella
WeWork has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey federal court.
On Monday, the former unicorn that revolutionized the concept of shared office space stated that it was beginning a "comprehensive reorganization" in the U.S. with plans to soon file for Chapter 11 in Canada, noting that locations outside of the two countries will not be affected.
"WeWork has a strong foundation, a dynamic business, and a bright future. Now is the time for us to pull the future forward by aggressively addressing our legacy leases and dramatically improving our balance sheet," said WeWork CEO David Tolley in a company release. "We defined a new category of working, and these steps will enable us to remain the global leader in flexible work. I am deeply grateful for the support of our financial stakeholders as we work together to strengthen our capital structure and expedite this process through the Restructuring Support Agreement."
Related: WeWork Has 'Substantial Doubt' It Will Continue Operating
Financial liabilities are estimated to range between $10 billion and $50 billion, per an initial filing.
Just two months ago, Tolley released a public statement saying that the company was "here to stay" amid the turmoil and that it planned to "remain a global flex space leader and trusted real estate partner to our members" in the immediate future.
Tolley also said at the time that the company was starting to "renegotiate nearly all" of its leases in an attempt to mitigate the struggling business model.
The shared space rental company has seen quite the fall from grace. Once valued at over $47 billion in 2019, the company tried but failed to go public amid troubling reports of then-CEO and founder Adam Neumann's behavior and business practices.
The saga inspired a 2022 AppleTV+ original miniseries that starred Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto, aptly titled "WeCrashed."
"As the co-founder of WeWork who spent a decade building the business with an amazing team of mission-driven people, the company's anticipated bankruptcy filing is disappointing," Neumann said Monday in a statement, per multiple outlets. "It has been challenging for me to watch from the sidelines since 2019 as WeWork has failed to take advantage of a product that is more relevant today than ever before. I believe that, with the right strategy and team, a reorganization will enable WeWork to emerge successfully."
Related: Why Did WeWork's Adam Neumann "Flee" From New York?
The business continued to plummet in 2020 amid the pandemic and a pivot to more remote work and hybrid schedules. WeWork lost an estimated 98% of its value since 2021 when it eventually debuted to the public markets through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
