WeWork has seen its ups and downs, and downs… and more downs, but the company’s chairman has a more positive outlook for 2021, predicting operational profitability by the end of next year.
Marcelo Claure became WeWork’s chairman after Adam Neumann, the notorious co-founder of the company, resigned his position as CEO last fall. Claure is also the COO of SoftBank Group, one of the biggest corporate supporters of the coworking space aggregator.
Claure has deep experience when it comes to helping companies turn around their profits. He is credited with doing so for companies like Sprint back in 2015 after it was acquired by SoftBank.
The COVID crisis called for remote work to run rampant in markets across the world which spelled trouble for WeWork, a company that banks on people working in their specifically curated office spaces. This caused the company to cut down on employees, close operating office buildings, and sell its shares in other companies to make ends meet.
Claure still has confidence that things are looking up for the company. And he would know, considering his track record. Still, WeWork has received a number of low blows even before the virus began its global spread. It’s now a matter of ‘wait and see.’
For a more comprehensive timeline of WeWork's lifecycle, check out our WeWork timeline infographic.