SINGAPORE – Embattled co-working giant WeWork said on Tuesday that it is business as usual in Singapore despite the US-listed company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A company spokesman told The Straits Times that WeWork’s operations in the Republic are currently not affected, and that its business here is not part of the bankruptcy proceedings in the United States.
He said: “Everything remains the same. We are still leasing our spaces and taking on new members. Whatever that has been agreed and signed remains the same.
“We are taking steps to reassure our members, and we are proactively communicating with them to ensure that it’s business as usual.”
The spokesman also stressed that there are no plans to reduce headcount in Singapore or cut the pay of its employees here.
Headquartered in New York, WeWork recorded overall losses of US$397 million (S$538 million) in the second quarter of 2023.
WeWork said in a statement in the US late on Monday that it has entered into a restructuring agreement with key stakeholders to drastically reduce its existing funded debt, and that it intended to file bankruptcy recognition proceedings in Canada.
The company’s locations outside of the US and Canada, as well as its franchisees around the world, are not affected by these proceedings, it added.
In Singapore, WeWork leases 14 locations, mostly in the Central Business District.
Its largest space here is a 21-storey building at 21 Collyer Quay, with 213,000 sq ft of space, leased from CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust.
It also leases space at Funan in North Bridge Road, City House in Robinson Road, Suntec Tower 5 and Mapletree Anson.
The spokesman said WeWork has no current plans to terminate the lease agreements with any of its Singapore landlords.
However, he added that the company is in the process of renegotiating its leases across all its locations worldwide.
In recent interviews with ST, the WeWork spokesman revealed that the company’s occupancy rate in Singapore stood at 82 per cent in 2022.
WeWork also saw an increase in the number of pay-as-you-go users, which doubled in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.
Its pay-per-month users also grew, by 28 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.
Some WeWork tenants ST spoke with on Tuesday said they have no immediate plans to terminate their leases.
Mr Benjamin Lee, co-founder and chief executive of Singapore-based start-up Sealed Network, said his company has no plans to relocate from its WeWork office in Prinsep Street because he believes that WeWork’s regional operations will remain unaffected.
Sealed Network currently has three offices – in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia – taking up space with WeWork.
Mr Lee said his company plans to maintain its WeWork office leases within those countries for the time being.
Another WeWork tenant, a director of a public relations company who spoke to ST on the condition of anonymity, said the company intends to respect its current lease agreement with WeWork, which runs for another three months.
However, he added, the company may demand to pay for its remaining lease with its rental deposit, and will not be renewing its lease until more clarity is provided.
When asked if WeWork will entertain such requests, the spokesman said: “The membership agreements remain in place, and we will continue to honour our obligations under our agreements.”
