Rental-car giant seeks Chapter 11 protection in face of losses from pandemic >>
by: Harvey Chipkin
Hertz has filed for bankruptcy. Citing the pandemic’s impact on its business, the rental-car company announced it had filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware. The company, which also operates the Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly rental-car brands with about 12,400 offices worldwide, will aim to restructure and stay in business. In a statement, the company said the impact of COVID-19 “was sudden and dramatic, causing an abrupt decline in the company’s revenue and future bookings.” Hertz had been struggling financially in recent years. In 2019, despite a record annual revenue of $9.8 billion, it lost $58 million, an improvement on the $225 million the company lost in 2018. Hertz's chief executive, Kathryn Marinello, left the company earlier this month and the board named her replacement, Paul Stone, previously the company's executive vice president and chief retail operations officer. In its statement, Hertz revealed it has "implemented furloughs and layoffs of 20,000 employees" so far, representing about half of its global workforce. Of that total, it's estimated that in North America, the company has already shed 12,000 employees this year and placed a further 4,000 workers on furlough.
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