RIO DE JANEIRO, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian construction company Odebrecht filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, with the company's case now the largest of its kind in the country.
The Odebrecht case amounts to 83.63 billion reais (21.44 billion U.S. dollars). Previously, the largest bankruptcy protection case in Brazil was that of telecom company Oi in 2016, which was worth 65 billion reais (16.6 billion dollars).
If the request is accepted by Brazilian courts, Odebrecht reportedly plans to present a new plan including other debts, which can lead to the total debt reaching 98 billion reais (25.1 billion dollars).
Odebrecht has been facing severe losses since 2015, when it started being investigated by Operation Carwash, a major operation to uncover corruption in governmental contracts. The operation affected some of Brazil's largest companies, especially those in the construction sector.
The country's economic crisis in recent years added to the problem. In the past five years, the number of Odebrecht employees has been reduced by 80 percent. The company said it currently employs 48,000 people.
The bankruptcy protection request is the most adequate move at the moment, so that the company can negotiate its debts with creditors together, Odebrecht's President Luciano Guidolin said in a statement.
"It represents a change of environment to continue in our efforts of financial restructuring," Guidolin said.
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