From Lyft to Salesforce, companies are starting to sublease office space as workers stay home
A WFR kind of day… work from rideshare. Lyft is lightening its office load as more employees ditch cubicles for WFH couches. Refresher: Back in March, Lyft told its 4K employees they could work remotely indefinitely (FYI: Lyft drivers not included). Now…
- Not your average sublet: Lyft plans to rent out nearly half its office space in SF, NYC, Nashville, and Seattle as its desks and snack-filled kitchens remain empty.
- Call the movers: Last month Salesforce opted to lease out 412K square feet of its SF office space. BuzzFeed also signed a sublet deal for its NYC office this week.
- Status: While hybrid work remains the most popular option, 35% of employed Americans have the option to WFH full time — and 87% take advantage of it.
Unused kombucha taps… Occupancy rates in major cities are less than 45% of available space, vs. 95% pre-panny. This week, Apple workers signed a petition opposing the company's mandate to work three days a week in the office. While more employees work remote or hybrid, companies are still paying full price to keep offices running. Now, Lyft isn’t the only biz shedding desk space:
You don’t need to lose it if you can use it… Lyft doesn’t want to lose office space in case it needs the flexibility to scale up later. By subleasing unused offices, companies can cut costs and generate reliable cash during downturns. But not everyone is shedding: Google’s planning to spend $9.5B this year on new offices and data centers.