The car rental company Hertz is one of the top dogs in the business. In the Corona crisis, sales plummeted. The company had to file for insolvency.
During the Corona crisis, the car rental company Hertz USA Insolvency filed. The decline in travel has led to a “sudden and dramatic” slump in sales and bookings, the company based in Estero in the US state Florida on Friday evening (local time) with. The business would continue during the restructuring required by the crisis. The company has more than a billion dollars (920 million euros) in cash to keep it running. International operations of the car rental company in Europe, Australia, or New Zealand were not affected by the insolvency application.
In March, the car rental company Hertz introduced the first measures in response to the Corona crisis.
The communication stated that Hertz had already taken action when the crisis became apparent in March. At that time, it was decided to suspend or dismiss 20,000 employees worldwide – around half of all employees. The number of vehicles and locations would be reduced. Nevertheless, the intention was to continue to offer customers the same quality and to pay suppliers and employees. Loyalty programs should also be extended.
Hertz is one of the largest rental car companies in the world, and rents out vehicles under the company names Dollar and Thrifty, among others. Hertz announced that the group had not been able to reach an agreement with its largest creditors to reduce payments in the long term. Hopes for US government support for car rental companies had also been dashed.
Corona in the USA: The traditional company J.C. Penney also filed for insolvency
The crisis has had a severe impact on the US economy. Only about a week ago, the 118-year-old department store chain J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy. After the insolvency applications of the Neiman Marcus and J. Crew store chains, J.C. Penney was the biggest corona victim in the US retailing to date. Around 85,000 people work for the company. J.C. Penney still has over 800 stores, many of which are the heart of American shopping centers.
Since the coronavirus pandemic in the USA worsened in March, more than 38 million people have already lost their jobs at least temporarily – more than ever before in such a short time. The USA is in a severe economic crisis because of the pandemic. President Donald Trump is urging the US states to relax protective measures as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track before the presidential election in November.