WeWork has released a statement revealing that it will divest its operations in Russia, just a few days after CEO Sandeep Mathrani said that the firm would keep their Moscow locations open.
“Together with our colleagues, members, and landlords, we have been finalizing solutions to divest operations in Russia and we’ve suspended all expansion plans for the business in this region,” WeWork said in a statement posted on LinkedIn. “We unequivocally condemn the unprovoked and unjust war that is bringing senseless devastation to the people of Ukraine.”
Last week, in an interview with Bloomberg, Mathrani was asked whether the company would need to retreat from the market, to which he replied, “I don’t think so. … Like I said, our assets do incredibly well. We hope for a resolution of the conflict and hopefully we can continue to do business in Moscow.”
Mathrani added that WeWork’s Russia locations were a “small part” of the business, bringing in a top line revenue of $10 million.
The day following this interview, WeWork put out a statement that the company would be “prepared to take action as necessary to ensure an orderly shut down of our business [in Russia].”
This follows several other notable companies such as Microsoft and Apple ceasing operations and sales in the country in objection to Russia invading Ukraine.
