CAR RENTAL NEWS

The move came on Friday and is expected to save the ailing New York company in the region of $170 million.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. has been recently faced with lessening demand for its services, combined with a decrease in its vehicle values, and was already forced to lay off 1,400 staff last autumn.
These cuts will reduce Hertz’s workforce by more than a third of what it was in August 2006, according to a company statement. At the moment the company has just under 30,000 workers who operate in 8,100 locations throughout 144 countries.


The company said these cuts would take place in its fiscal 2008 fourth quarter and first quarter of 2009 in its car and equipment rental operations as well as corporate and support areas. The reductions will occur across all regions.
Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Frissora said in a statement: "Volume, pricing and residual values continued to decline during the most recently completed quarter, and we cannot predict when our markets will improve."
“Hertz is still committed to its global airport and off-airport car rental and equipment rental businesses and will add the necessary resources when operating conditions get better.”

In November Hertz projected 2008 adjusted earnings of between $340 million and $375 million, or $1.05 to $1.15 per share. It anticipated revenue between $8.7 billion and $8.8 billion.
But Hertz has now suspended its financial guidance and now no longer expects to meet annual earnings targets set in August 2008.

Shares of Hertz fell 12 cents, or 2.2 percent, to close at $5.27 on Friday. During the past 52 weeks, the stock has fallen from a high of $15.32 last February to bottom at $1.55 in November.
Car rental is a beleaguered business right now because of the reduced number of airline flights and cost cutting throughout the travel and tourism industry.

Car rental competitors Avis Budget Group Inc. and Dollar Thrifty Automotive are also having problems.
Avis has announced a management salary freeze and cut more than 2,200 jobs as part of a drive to reduce annual costs. In October, Dollar Thrifty said it had cut its work force by six percent, which is about 400 jobs.
Hertz's finances have been considered more stable than its rivals, due to the company's large equipment rental division, which accounts for roughly half its earnings and provides it with more cash flow than pure rental car companies.