Most of WeWork's locations continue to stay open—but almost no one is in them. The coronavirus pandemic is depressing demand for shared workspace and the looming recession could prompt many freelancers and small businesses to save money by working from home
The headquarters of WeWork in New York on Nov. 18, 2019. The shared office space company is offering its workers $100-a-day bonuses to come to its locations amid the coronavirus crisis
Image: Sangsuk Sylvia Kang/The New York Times
In the fight against the spreading coronavirus, countless businesses, restaurants and bars have temporarily shuttered to stop people from congregating.
But WeWork, which operates shared workspaces, has kept most of its locations open. As of Tuesday, WeWork’s website said only two of its coworking offices in North America were closed and none were closed in Europe. The last public communication about the virus from the company to its customers, which include freelancers, small businesses and large corporations like Amazon, was 12 days ago, in which it listed the precautions it was taking. WeWork has allowed employees who normally staff its locations to work from home, but this week it started to entice some to go in with $100-a-day bonuses, according to an internal memo reviewed by The New York Times.
One thing is clear: A widespread shutdown could deal a grievous blow to WeWork, a once celebrated startup that was already struggling.
In a turbulent past six months, WeWork called off an initial public offering as investors balked at its losses and corporate governance, laid off hundreds of employees, changed its top leadership twice and was bailed out by SoftBank, WeWork’s dominant shareholder. SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate that runs a large technology investment fund, stepped in after WeWork nearly ran out of money. But its cash outflows are expected to be even greater this year as it completes an expansion that will almost double its locations.
Though most of WeWork’s locations are officially open — the company said it provided essential services that many state and local governments had allowed to continue — almost no one is in them. In midtown Manhattan, home to several WeWork spaces, the usual heavy flow of customers has dwindled to a trickle, according to two employees who work in or are monitoring those locations, and who asked not to be named because they feared losing their jobs.
©2019 New York Times News Service