This archive report was first published on 8 November 2019.
As WeWork prepares to lay off thousands of employees, a group of workers is speaking out against the company's founder, Adam Neumann. In a letter, the workers claim that Neumann's $1.7 billion payout is 'graft' and that the company's leadership is out of touch with its values.
The workers' concerns were first raised in 2018, during a company retreat in the English countryside. At the time, most employees were forced to rough it in small tents, while Neumann stayed in a luxury tent. This, according to one employee, was a 'physical manifestation of the power imbalance'.
More recently, the company has faced criticism for spending $60 million on a private jet and for Neumann's purchase of multiple mansions. The workers are also calling for the company to address allegations of sexual misconduct, increase diversity, and eliminate the requirement that employees resolve claims against the company through arbitration.
The workers' demands echo those of employees at other tech companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. In each of these cases, employees have used collective action to push for change, often without first trying to create a union.
