WeWork emerged from its nine-month Chapter 11 restructuring one year ago as a private company free of debt. To get there, it had to undergo a massive purge — of both its real estate and its reputation. 
In making itself synonymous with coworking, the company had become bloated. At its 2019 peak, less than a decade after its founding, WeWork operated 850 locations.
Its rapid growth was fueled by a SoftBank investment that valued the company at $47B and a controversial CEO. When the pandemic hit, it was loaded with unprofitable, undesirable locations and the billions of dollars of rent payments and maintenance costs tied to them.