In brief: WeWork lays off 300 employees ahead of a hiring spree

• US-based co-working giant WeWork laid off roughly 3 percent of its workforce – about 300 employees – in what it described as “performance-related dismissals.”
• WeWork, which operates shared office spaces around the world, suggested the staff reductions were a small culling ahead of a hiring spree. A spokesman told Bloomberg that the company has 10,000 employees and plans to add 6,000 this year.
• The company has attracted huge piles of investor money, which it uses to snap up office space in the largest cities globally. The multi-billion investments from SoftBank have put WeWork back on the offensive especially in Asia, which is driving growth for the business.
• Its most recent commitment is to invest further in South Korea, where WeWork will “continue to invest in as [the company] sees a growing number of individuals and startups seeking support and a sense of community,” according to Yonhap.
• WeWork entered Korea in August 2016. By July, it plans to increase the number of locations in the country to 18 to accommodate 24,000 members.

Source: Bloomberg, Yonhap News Agency