After discussing layoffs to cut costs, WeWork CEO Adam Neumann treated employees to tequila shots and a private performance by a member of Run DMC
- Moments after discussing a round of layoffs due to cost cuts, WeWork CEO Adam Neumann treated employees to tequila shots and a performance by Run DMC, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
- According to the Journal, Neumann asked his staff to fire 20 percent of WeWork's employees each year, and requested that some employees be fired after meeting with them for a few minutes.
- WeWork has been preparing a September IPO, but ultimately chose to delay the offering to give the company more time to court investors.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
WeWork CEO Adam Neumann reportedly told his staff members to layoff 20 percent of the company's workers each year, according to a new article from the Wall Street Journal detailing Neumann's management style.
The Journal reports that Neumann asked for multiple employees to be fired after meeting them for just a few minutes. Neuman was reportedly disappointed by the number of "B players" the startup had hired during its expansion, but managers were unable or unwilling to eliminate one in five employees as requested.
WeWork did fire 7 percent of its staff in 2016. During an all-hands meeting at WeWork's New York City headquarters, Neumann attributed those layoffs to necessary cost cuts. Moments later employees at the meeting were served shots of tequila, along with toasts and more drinks, the Journal reported. The evening ended with a performance by Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC.
Former executives told the Journal that Neumann's "outlandish" cost cutting goals helped produce better results than "more realistic" goals. The Journal article goes on to describe some of Neumann's personal tastes, which include Don Julio 1942 tequila priced at more than $100 per bottle.
WeWork, which formally rebranded as The We Company earlier this year, is currently preparing for its IPO. The company was reportedly planning to go public in September but chose to delay the offering due to a lack of investor interest.
Read more: WeWork just shelved its IPO. Here's why the spectacular fiasco was fated from the start.
The We Company was valued at $47 billion in a private valuation at the start of the year, but the company has reportedly considered a public valuation below $20 billion ahead of its IPO. Neumann reportedly told employees that he had been "humbled"by the IPO process and said he had lessons to learn about running a public company.