Half of big international firms to cut office space in next three years – survey

Firms are looking to work their offices harder, but still offer some flexibility to staff to work from home, says Lee Elliott at Knight Frank. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Half of the largest international employers are planning to cut their office space in the next three years, according to a survey, as they struggle to manage the complex nature of the post-Covid workplace.

The survey of 350 businesses by property consultants Knight Frank and commercial real estate firm Cresa found that 50% the largest businesses they questioned – those with more than 50,000 employees – expect to shrink their global workspaces, although most are only planning to reduce by between 10% and 20%.