Mexican airline Aeromexico has requested permission from U.S. bankruptcy court to dismiss 1,830 employees in a cost-saving measure to weather the economic shocks of the coronavirus crisis, according to court filings filed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The proposed layoffs, of 855 unionized workers and another 975 who do not belong to a union, would save the company $44 million on a recurring annual basis, Aeromexico said.

Wealthy nations grouped together in the Paris Club of creditors have waived Cuba’s annual payment for restructured debt but plan to impose a penalty on the Communist–run island, according to five Western diplomats with knowledge of the situation, Reuters reported. This year marks the first time Cuba has missed the entire payment due by Oct. 31 since the restructuring agreement was signed in 2015, though it fell short of full payment last year as well. The accord, signed in tandem with the U.S.

Global miner Rio Tinto is seeking court approval to sell its partner’s share of diamonds from a mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, a filing this week showed, hoping to recover around C$120 million plus legal fees and other costs, Reuters reported. Rio owns 60% of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc (DDMI) and says it is owed C$119.5 million plus about C$2.4 million in fees by junior partner Dominion Diamond ULC. Dominion holds a 40% stake in the northern mine, located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of the territorial capital of Yellowknife.

Canadian fashion retailer Le Chateau Inc said on Friday it had sought creditor protection and was preparing to liquidate its assets and wind down operations after taking a hit from the COVID-19 impact, Reuters reported. The 60-year-old chain, which sells occasion- and party-wear, saw its sales slump 72% in the second quarter ended July 25, as Canadians avoided venturing out due to fears of contracting the coronavirus. Apparel retailers across the globe have been facing mounting debt and bankruptcies as the virus outbreak wreaked havoc on the economy.

Beleaguered B.C.-based luxury cruise company One Ocean Expeditions will be allowed to restructure its business to avoid bankruptcy, a judge ruled Wednesday, CBC reported. The company's proposal, which includes providing creditors — some who paid tens of thousands of dollars for voyages that never happened — the option of using that money toward a future trip is "fair and reasonable" and in the best interest of stakeholders, B.C. Supreme Court justice Sandra Wilkinson said.

Mexican airline Aeromexico on Tuesday posted a net loss of $130.38 million in the third quarter under the strain of the coronavirus pandemic, yet said passenger demand had begun to revive, Reuters reported. The drag on profits was considerably narrower than in the prior quarter, when Aeromexico posted a net loss of $1.19 billion.

During a pandemic that has wreaked havoc with global travel, Enrique Beltranena is something of a rarity: a happy airline boss. Volaris, his Mexican low-cost airline, has added, not cut, routes during the crisis, has a healthy balance sheet and is “cautiously optimistic” in its outlook, he said.

Canadians are experiencing the economic effects of COVID-19 very differently — and it largely depends on how vulnerable they were prior to the pandemic, a new poll suggests, Global News reported. The youngest people in the workforce — those in Generation Z  — appear to be struggling the most, according to the poll, which was commissioned by insolvency firm MNP. Nearly 70 per cent are $200 or less away from insolvency, which includes 39 per cent who are already insolvent, meaning their financial resources aren’t enough to cover their current obligations.

It may be little surprise the pandemic has infected Canadians with more stress over debt, but a new survey offers the eye-openers that people fear the stigma of mental illness more than poverty and business failure, and young people are more afraid than their elders, the Financial Post reported. With Mental Illness Awareness Week being marked in Canada next week, almost three quarters of the 1,510 respondents polled Sept. 23-25 in the Angus Reid Forum by insolvency company Bromwich+Smith said mental illness carries the heaviest stigma.

Mexico’s finance ministry and banking regulator extended tools to allow banks and financial intermediaries to restructure loans and other credits to clients, senior officials said Wednesday, in the government’s latest push to help an ailing economy, Reuters reported. The measures will extend until next year several temporary rules designed to avoid defaults and loss of collateral, in what Finance Minister Arturo said was a recognition that the economy will remain fragile for some time.