I mean, do you really need to see the article?
WeWork is among a growing number of U.S. businesses that are skipping out on rent payments as companies look to preserve cash ahead of what could be a long economic downturn brought on by the pandemic.
WeWork’s push to lower its rent costs and switch leases to management agreements started long before the coronavirus outbreak. The shared-office provider came close to running out of money after a failed attempt at an initial public offering in the fall, in part because of its massive real-estate expenses.
Following a bailout by SoftBank Group Corp., 9984 3.92% WeWork had $4.4 billion in cash and cash commitments at the end of 2019. While its U.S. locations are still open, many are mostly empty as large parts of the economy remain shut down.
The company’s bonds traded at 37 cents on the dollar as of Wednesday, down from 90 cents in late February.
WeWork isn’t treating all landlords the same: While some say they have been paid, others say they are still waiting for their checks.
“WeWork believes in the long-term prospects of our locations and our relationships with landlords across the world,” a WeWork spokeswoman said in a statement. “Rather than implementing a companywide policy on rent payments, we are individually reaching out to our more than 600 global landlord partners to work in good faith towards finding asset-specific solutions that benefit all parties involved.”