The Florida-based company manages car rental brands such as Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty, and has had conversations with lenders since in April they were unable to pay their debts to companies from which they lease their vehicles.

Crashed during the pandemic

Before the pandemic hit with full force, Hertz went strong, the company says in a statement, with sales increasing six and 8 percent respectively in January and February.

But covid-19 caused a "sudden and dramatic" impact on travel demand, causing the company to crash financially.

The company has a debt of $ 18 billion and 38,000 employees worldwide, but only operations in the US and Canada are now affected.

Hertz had managed to negotiate a deferral to the creditors, which expired on Friday. And negotiations for further extension are stranded, US media reports.

Request protection

The company has now filed for bankruptcy protection to a Delaware court, according to the so-called Eleventh Chapter. It corresponds to roughly a corporate restructuring, and means that the company can continue to operate while trying to solve the financial problems.

The request for bankruptcy protection means that Hertz is one of the most high-profile corporate collapses following the corona crisis.

Hertz in Sweden states that operations in the Nordic countries are not directly affected by what is happening in the US, as the business is run as a franchise by a subsidiary of Volvo Cars.

"Our franchise rights are not affected by developments in the US and our focus is just as before to parry the corona pandemic and take care of our customers and employees in a good and safe way," Hertz Sweden's CEO Mattias Wäne said in a press release from May 5.