WeWork is reworking its position on doing business in Russia in light of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine nearing the two-week mark.
A week after the real estate company said it had no plans to shut down its operations, WeWork said on Monday it was changing its mind. The company operates 749 locations in 121 cities worldwide, four of which are in Russia.
“We unequivocally condemn the unprovoked and unjust war that is bringing senseless devastation to the people of Ukraine,” WeWork wrote in a statement on LinkedIn on Monday. “Together with our colleagues, members, and landlords, we have been finalizing solutions to divest operations in Russia and we’ve suspended all expansions for the business in this region.”
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One week ago, WeWork’s CEO said the company had no plans to shut down operations in the country.
“We do incredibly well,” Sandeep Lakhmi Mathrani told Bloomberg on Feb. 28. “We are, as of right now, over 90% occupied. It is a small part of our business.”
Mathrani said WeWork brings in “several billion” dollars a year, about $10 million of which comes from Russia.
The company, which rents out office space for tech startups and other businesses, was once valued at roughly $47 billion, according to CNN Business. However, the company tumbled in value when it tried to go public in 2019 and has since merged with a special purpose acquisition company.
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WeWork’s market value has been on a steady decline since it went public in October 2021. The company’s stock price was up slightly on Friday to $4.90 a share, but shares have been trending down since a spike on Oct. 22, 2021. The price on Friday was down more than 50% from its first day.
Russia’s economy has taken a beating as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. In addition to severe economic sanctions levied by the United States and the European Union, dozens of companies have cut ties with the country.
