Knotel CEO Amol Sarva On Layoffs, Giving Back Space And Which Companies Won't Survive
Bisnow has a new podcast chronicling how members of the commercial real estate industry are dealing with the impact of the current global health crisis. The economic impacts are vast, and it is forcing businesses to adapt and make difficult decisions.
In this series, Make Yourself At Home, we are hearing from members of the commercial real estate industry about how they are managing this new reality and gaining insight into their day-to-day approaches. You can subscribe on iTunes and Spotify.
The past few years have been a time of enormous growth for flexible workspace provider Knotel. The company has leased some 5M SF across 250 locations around the world and reached a $1B valuation last year.
But the fallout of the pandemic has hit the company hard. Last month, the company took drastic measures, roughly halving its team to prepare for the new workplace paradigm.
Sarva speaks in this episode about the economic damage to the real estate industry and his own business: making layoffs, handing back space to landlords and the suggestion the company has missed rent payments.
"The are some small companies that have already been in discussion with us [about not paying rent], and a couple of big companies that I'm sure will be calling soon," he said. "There are going to be changing attitudes about office, and we're going to have to deal with it."
