France's second-largest courier company filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday due to financial troubles in a move unions say could cost up to 7,000 jobs in the sector, adding to unemployment woes facing President François Hollande, reports Reuters.
Mory-Ducros, born last January from the merger of Mory and Ducros Express, said the filing would allow it to restructure following heavy financial losses incurred over the past 18 months. It employs 5, 200 workers directly.
The announcement of a major bankruptcy amid unemployment already above 11 percent adds to Hollande's difficulties as the Socialist leader tries to fulfil a promise of reversing the trend of rising joblessness by year-end.
Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who said in November that Mory-Ducros would be first in line to receive help from a 300-million-euro state fund for struggling firms, said the government would meet unions and company representatives soon to explore job-saving measures.
Read more of this report from Reuters.