Twitter's New York office has a cockroach problem

• Twitter staff have spotted cockroaches in changing rooms and showers, sources told Insider.
• A representative for the company that owns the office building declined to comment.

Workers at Twitter's office in New York City recently spotted cockroaches in employee areas, sources told Insider.

Staff at the office in Chelsea have seen cockroaches in the showers and a changing room at the facility, sources said.

Twitter began leasing the building in 2015 through Columbia Property Management and has subleased several floors to other companies, including Lyft and Netflix.

A spokesperson for Columbia Property Management declined to comment. A representative for Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Twitter is the only direct leasee at the office building which is listed as a "Class B" building on CoStar, a commercial real estate database.

Class B buildings, especially those with a single tenant, typically have leases that make the tenant responsible for cleaning services and pest control, Sean Black, CEO of real estate brokerage BLACKre, told Insider.

Cockroaches are an all-too-common pest in New York City. An American Housing Survey found that about one in six New Yorkers have reported seeing cockroaches in their homes. The vermin are drawn to dark and warm environments with ample food sources and can be notoriously difficult to exterminate.

Since acquiring Twitter in October, Elon Musk has continued to cut costs, laying off more than half the company's workers and deciding against renegotiating the contracts of facilities maintenance workers who handled in-office supplies and cleaning in New York and San Francisco.

Insider previously reported that staff in New York, where workers have been called to come into the office at least 40 hours a week, had already begun to complain of odors from uncleaned bathrooms and clogged toilets.

Workers have also faced issues with a shortage of toilet paper and several staff have made requests over Slack and email for the company to address the bathroom issues, sources previously told Insider.

Earlier this month, Columbia Property Trust filed a lawsuit against Twitter, alleging the company had failed to pay $136,250 in rent at one of its offices in San Francisco.

On Wednesday, Insider reported that Twitter was closing at least a dozen of its international offices, with employees at a Twitter office in Singapore temporarily forced to leave the building due to a late rent payment.

Some staff at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco have been sleeping in the office after Musk issued an ultimatum for staff to work "extremely hardcore." Even Musk said he's been sleeping in the office on occasion after Twitter converted some space into bedrooms.

Additional reporting by Dan Geiger.