Hertz, which has 38,000 staff, is one of the largest firms to be undone by the pandemic

The 102-year-old car rental firm Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection after its business all but vanished during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hertz said in a US court filing on Friday that it had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganisation. Its international operating regions including Europe, Australia and New Zealand were not included in the US proceedings.