Does WeWork still exist? How many locations are in Florida, what we know

Less than one month after hiring a new CEO, co-working company WeWork filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, November 6.

But chapter 11 bankruptcy filings don't close a company, just reorganize it. And WeWork is in need of some major reorganizing. The company has been steadily losing value since the exit of its founding CEO in 2019.

The company was worth $47 billion at its peak in 2019 and plummeted to a valuation of $45 million before filing for bankruptcy on Monday.

In August, WeWork announced that it was doubtful of its ability to stay in business much longer.

Very recently, in October, the company’s shares had risen by over 2% and it introduced a new CEO to help turn the business around.

“Over the past few months we have taken decisive and focused actions to improve our business…” New WeWork CEO David Tolley said in a company press release on October 16. “I emphatically believe we’re on the right path, already gaining momentum and seeing promising results from our efforts.”

On Wednesday, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and Insider all confirmed that the company, once worth billions, qualified to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and accurately predicted it would file this week. The value of WeWork shares plummeted again ― down 50% — following the news on Wednesday, keeping the company's financial footing volatile.

If you agree that this seems like a lot for one business to go through in just a few months, you might be stunned by the company’s tumultuous history. There's even a TV show about it. Here’s a simplified breakdown of what WeWork is, what kind of bankruptcy it filed for, if it’s still in business and where to find WeWork locations in Florida.

What is WeWork?

WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann, who was made infamous by Jared Leto last year in an AppleTV series about the former CEO’s marriage and business called “WeCrashed.” Leto and Anne Hathaway played Neumann and his wife.

The series shows the couple’s “shared delusions and aspirations and how the fate of WeWork was often determined by their moods and impulses,” according to a review from USA TODAY.

WeWork is a co-working company that buys buildings in metropolitan areas and rents out office and conference spaces to individuals and businesses that need a space to work. The company made its mark by offering things like wellness rooms, event spaces and coffee bars at its locations. WeWork owned more private offices than any other tenant in Manhattan at one point, according to a 2018 Reuters report.

The company tried to go public in 2019, when it was worth nearly $50 billion, but it took two years and a lot of money to do so. And the pressure from investors who were disappointed by the flopped first attempt at listing the company on the New York stock exchange sparked Neumann’s exit from the company almost immediately.

In September 2019, Neumann resigned, and the company eventually went public in March 2021. But Since the founding CEO’s exodus, the company’s tumultuous first public offering and COVID’s work-from-home culture take-over in 2020, the company’s value has consistently fallen, dropping by nearly 99% over the course of just the past year.

Is WeWork still in business?

Yes, WeWork is still a business. And it will continue to be, even after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

According to the BBC, WeWork, based in New York City, had over 700 locations open across 39 countries. Last week, the BBC reported that WeWork members who work at one of the company’s locations in London said that they were emailed by the company, asked to be out of the building by the end of the month and told WeWork would be closing "unprofitable" sites.

WeWork told the BBC that the move to close some of its sites isn’t a harbinger of shutting the company down, citing that closing some sites fits into its “Previously-announced strategy to improve liquidity and strengthen [the] balance sheet."

What is Chapter 11 bankruptcy in simple terms?

In case you’re curious, what WeWork is doing (shutting down some locations) is right in line with the implications of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is not filed to shut down a business, but to reorganize it.

“The collapse of WeWork actually came a few years ago when it ran out of money after pursuing an aggressive strategy of expansion through snatching up office space where no price was too great..." Ted Gavin, founding partner of corporate consulting firm Gavin/Solmonese LLC said.

"Now that office space continues to sit empty post-pandemic and lease rates have plummeted, WeWork should be in an ideal position to refocus, recapitalize, reconfigure, and reinvigorate itself."

Chapter 11 bankruptcy gives a business or individual a chance to plan a reorganization of finances to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time.

How many WeWork locations have closed?

“The company will now be looking to renegotiate many of its leases not just in the UK, but around the world,” The BBC reported. “As it tries to solve problems caused by rapid expansion, increasing interest rates, a disastrous attempt to sell shares to the public and the exit of its co-founder.”

WeWork hasn’t commented on which locations have closed or are set to close soon.

The company has taken at least 45 of its U.S. locations off of its website, including locations in New York, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Washington and Tennessee.

A WeWork spokesperson told CoStar that the company has "begun a process of engagement with landlords to permanently fix inflexible and high cost structures in our lease portfolio. WeWork will remain a global flex space leader and this is a critical step in creating a sustainable capital structure and positioning the company, landlords, and members for long-term success.”

How many WeWork locations are there in Florida?

There are six WeWork locations in Florida and they’re almost all concentrated in one city. Miami has five of Florida’s WeWork locations and Tampa has the sixth.

If you live in Miami or Tampa and want to check out the WeWork near you, you can use the company’s location search tool here.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Does WeWork still exist? What to know about the company's bankruptcy