WeWork Withdraws Staff From NYC Locations Amid Demonstrations

WeWork has stopped sending staff into New York City locations as protests, clashes between demonstrators and police, and looting have roiled the city since the weekend.

“If you’ve been watching the news or social media feeds like us this weekend, you have seen the events unfolding across the country,” the coworking company wrote in a message to members, Commercial Observer reports. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are moving all buildings in New York to keycard access only until further notice … If you would like to go to the building, you will need your keycard.”

There will be no staff on-site to help with services, members were told. More than 100 WeWork locations are affected, per CO. At least one WeWork location in Washington, D.C., will also not be staffed for the time being, according to an email obtained by Bisnow.

WeWork, the largest private office tenant in the city, raised the ire of some members when it opted to keep its sites open through the coronavirus crisis — even reportedly offering a $100-a-day bonus for staff to keep going in to work.

This week, WeWork's head of U.S. real estate, Aaron Ellison, left the company, Business Insider reported, the latest in a string of WeWork real estate operatives to have stepped away after the company's failed attempt at going public last year precipitated a rethinking of its growth-at-all-costs leasing strategy.

Many of its counterparts closed, but WeWork said it decided to keep operating because it was providing essential services. One member who had petitioned WeWork to close its doors during the virus crisis described the firm's decision to pull staff in the city as "wildly offensive."

Demonstrations have intensified across the country, as tens of thousands of people have taken to the street in protest against the killing of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis while in police custody over a week ago. The police officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes has been charged with second-degree murder.

In New York City, the protests, many of which are peaceful, in some cases gave way to widespread looting on Sunday and Monday nights. On Tuesday night, vandalism and looting eased as demonstrators continued to gather to march across the city.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

How Long Island Projects Can Cut Through Red Tape And Community Opposition To Cross The Finish Line

Empire State Building Observation Deck Hemorrhaging Visitors, Value

Slate, Hudson Cos. Picked To Develop Massive Queens Housing Project

BXP's 343 Madison Lands $1.2B Loan, Nears Deal With Equity Partner

Mamdani Adds Millions To Program Helping Retailers Negotiate With Landlords

Canadian REIT Buys Brooklyn Medical Office For $90M: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

NYC Stops Construction On Another Office-To-Residential Conversion As Inspectors Descend On Job Sites

SL Green Cashing In On Surging Manhattan Office Market

Developers Build More Bedrooms As 99-Unit Projects Dominate

Mamdani Names Anthony Shorris CEO, Lina Khan Chair Of EDC

Landlords Sue Rental Board, Claiming 'Sham Process' Led To Rent Freeze

GO Residential Buys Brooklyn Building For $109M: The N.Y. Deal Sheet