The more than 100-year-old company Who has already rented once at an airport, a car, knows Hertz: to the top dogs in the industry. The Corona-crisis is forcing the US companies now in bankruptcy. The business in Europe is not affected, though.

Washington (AP) - The Corona-crisis and a heavy debt burden forced the U.S. car rental company Hertz in the bankruptcy. The decrease in travel have led to a "sudden and dramatic" decline in sales and bookings, the company said at the weekend. During the restructuring, the crisis, the operation will continue. The international business of the Car rental company in Europe, Australia or new Zealand will not be affected by the bankruptcy filing - as well as Franchise partners.

Hertz is one of the largest car companies in the world, and rented vehicles under the brands Dollar and Thrifty. The company was groaning for years under a mountain of debt, which reached around $ 19 billion.

Hertz, applied for a total of 30 companies creditor protection under Chapter 11 of the US insolvency law. The idea behind this procedure is to restructure a company, while cash dispense donor with at least part of their claims.

Hertz informed, the group can, with its largest creditors not in advance on a long-term reduction in payments to some of them. Also hopes to have a support from the US government for a car rental company smash. These developments forced Hertz, finally, to bankruptcy. The "Wall Street Journal" reported, at the same time, the company and the creditors still wanted to negotiate a Deal to avoid a dissolution of the fleet of hundreds of thousands of car hire.

Hertz stressed that the company has more than a billion dollars (920 million euros) in Cash to keep the operation going. In March, Hertz had already initiated the first measures as a reaction to the Corona-crisis. Around 20,000 employees worldwide have been furloughed or laid off - about half of all employees. The number of vehicles and locations is reduced. We intend, nevertheless, customers continue to have the same quality to offer, and to pay suppliers and workers, stressed by Hertz. Also, loyalty programs should be continued.

Hertz, of the state of Florida has its headquarters currently in Estero, in the US, is more than 100 years old. The 22-year-old car salesman, Walter Jacobs founded the company in 1918, in Chicago, under the name of Rent-a-Car, Inc, with twelve vehicles of the Ford Models T. Five years later, the company was taken over by the Taxi entrepreneur John Hertz and got its present name - the was first, Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System. Hertz was a pioneer in the car rental at the airport since the 30s.

The debt burden is dragging Hertz since a time point of Takeover by financial investors in front of around 15 years. The Acquisition of Dollar and Thrifty in 2012 at a cost of more than two billion dollars. Since then, there has been several chef changes and Hertz was most recently in the loss zone. Just a few days ago as Saniererin in the future, the company's CEO, Kathryn Marinello threw in the towel. A major shareholder of the for his tough stance against the Management of well-known Investor Carl Icahn, holds almost 40 percent of the shares.

Also, Hertz competitors such as Avis handles in the Corona-crisis, severe cutbacks and increased their cash reserves. The largest German car rental company Sixt wrote, meanwhile, the most recent of these in the red and has planned "a disastrous second quarter" - but it wants to break Stations, even stations close. He reckon that in the second half of the year, the business attractive again, said CEO Erich Sixt.

The crisis has drawn the US economy badly. Only around a week, the 118-year-old Department store chain J. C. Penney had filed for bankruptcy. After the Insolvency the in-store Neiman Marcus and J. Crew necklaces, J. C. Penney was the biggest Corona-victims in the US retail market. For the company of approximately 85,000 people work.

Since the escalation of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States in March, more than 38 million people have lost at least temporarily their Job - as many as never before in such a short period of time. The United States are due to the pandemic in a serious economic crisis. President Donald Trump is urging the US Federal States as quickly as possible loosening of the protective measures to put the economy before the presidential election in November again.

message from Hertz

Hertz to insolvency proceedings