Office-sharing company WeWork (WE) has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors in a New Jersey federal court.
The bankruptcy filing is limited to WeWork’s operations and office locations in the U.S. and Canada, the company said in a press release.
Court documents show the company had as much as $50 billion U.S. of debt, which it is unable to pay.
WeWork has suffered one of the most spectacular corporate collapses in recent memory. As recently as 2019, the company was valued at $47 billion U.S.
However, WeWork’s business model of renting office space to people was severely challenged by the work from home trend that took hold during the Covid-19 pandemic and continues today.
The bankruptcy filing showed that WeWork currently has close to $16 billion U.S. in long-term lease obligations at 777 locations around the world.
After failing to initially go public several times, WeWork’s stock made its debut in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The stock has since lost 99% of its value and currently trades for only $0.84 U.S. per share.
