The chief executive of WeWork may be out of a job soon if a group of directors gets its way.
Several company directors linked to main-investor SoftBank Group are trying force out the controversial company leader, Adam Neumann, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere on Sunday.
The move comes after the company pushed back its planned initial public offering and follows a report in the Journal of Neumann’s drug use and drinking.
A spokeswoman for WeWork declined to comment to TheStreet on the matter, saying the company is in a “quiet period,” and SoftBank could not be immediately reached for comment.
Some investors feel Neumann’s oversized hand in the company has hampered its ability to go public, according reporting in the Financial Times, which cautioned that it was not yet certain that a majority of investors want the increasingly controversial CEO out.
WeWork’s parent, the We Company, earlier this month pushed back its planned IPO, saying it expected it to come later this year.
The company has also seen its valuation plummet, from around $47 billion in early 2019 to just $10 billion to $12 billion, Reuters reported on Sept. 13.
SoftBank alone has invested some $9 billion in the company.
WeWork’s planned IPO was criticized by Jim Cramer earlier this month, who also took aim at the self-dealing of the CEO.
