What's the best way to lighten the mood after announcing mass layoffs?

For WeWork CEO Adam Neumann, it was apparently booze and a surprise party — beginning just "minutes" after dropping that bomb to the whole company.

A Wall Street Journal profile of Neumann, published on the heels of WeWork's recent messy IPO attempt, revealed the CEO's handling of the firings — 7 percent company-wide — left employees "stunned and confused."

The announcement (and subsequent party, if you'd call it that) occurred at an all-hands meeting at WeWork's headquarters in 2016. Neumann reportedly delivered the news with a somber tone, "telling attendees the move was tough but necessary to cut costs, and the company would be better because of it."

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But then, as the Journal details, employees walked into the room with trays of plastic shot glasses filled with tequila before Darryl McDaniels of hip-hop act Run-DMC arrived to perform a set.

"Workers danced to the 1980s hit 'It's Tricky' as the tequila trays made more rounds," the profile read. "Some others, still focused on the firings, say they were stunned and confused."

And that's just one of the bizarre revelatory anecdotes detailing Neumann's tenure thus far as CEO.

As Vanity Fair pointed out, Neumann, at various times, stated that if he ran for office, it would be for "president of the world"; has said he wants to live forever; was once stranded in Israel when the owner of the private jet on which he was flying became concerned he'd be liable over the "sizable" amount of marijuana Neumann reportedly illegally brought along with him into the country; and once claimed WeWork had the capability to "solve the problem of children without parents" and also end world hunger.

Neumann's wife, Rebekah Paltrow Neumann (who is also Gwyneth Paltrow's cousin) also made an appearance in the story, by way of a report that she has attempted to get multiple WeWork employees fired because she "didn't like their energy."

It's not all bad news for Adam Neumann though; he still holds a 62 percent approval rating as CEO on Glassdoor.

WeWork has declined to comment on the report to SFGate.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: apereira@sfchronicle.com | Twitter: @alyspereira

