WeWork has pulled out of several Canadian locations following its bankruptcy filing on Monday.
In court documents filed this week, the co-working company said it has "rejected" a total of 69 leases, effective November 6. More than half of the shuttered offices are located in New York City, where WeWork is headquartered.
Five of the company’s Canadian locations are included in the initial round of cuts, although additional leases could be terminated at a later date. Nineteen of its co-working offices remain open and operating across Canada.
In Toronto, WeWork has rejected its lease at 292 Adelaide Street West in the city’s downtown core, and shuttered its location at 171 East Liberty Street in Liberty Village.
The company occupied 13,810 sq. ft of space across four floors in the former, according to April 2023 documents from Avison Young, and housed more than 1,000 desks across three floors in the latter.
Leases at 1090 West Pender Street and 1045 Howe Street in downtown Vancouver have been terminated, as has the lease at 4635 Lougheed Highway in Burnaby. As part of its departure, WeWork has abandoned "miscellaneous furniture, fixtures, and/or equipment" at the sites.
The shuttered offices were largely non-operational, WeWork said, and are part of a "deliberate and value-maximizing" lease rejection plan that is expected to position the company for "operational and financial success."
According to its website, eight WeWork locations remain open in Toronto, including Scotia Plaza and Hudson's Bay Queen, five offices are operating in Vancouver, including Marine Gateway, and four are still open in Montreal, including L'Avenue. Calgary's Stephen Avenue Place and Burnaby's Station Square continue to operate as well.
In August, WeWork admitted to having "substantial doubt" that it could remain in business, and the company began to engage with landlords regarding the "underlying cost of real estate" the following month. CEO David Tolley said he has "exceptional confidence" that the company will complete its restructuring process by Q2 2024.
"WeWork is going to emerge from this process as a much financially stronger company," Tolley said. "WeWork is here to stay and we sincerely look forward to continuing to work with each of you for many, many years to come."
