France Telecom CEO to resign after 24th suicide

France Telecom chief executive Didier Lombard faces calls to resign after 24th suicide

The chief executive of France Telecom was last night facing calls to resign after the number of suicides at the company reached 24.

By Rupert Neate
Telegraph, 29 Sep 2009

France Telecom has suspended its 'Time to Move' programme, which forces managers to change posts every three years Photo: AP

The latest death came on Monday when a 51-year-old jumped from a motorway bridge in the French Alps. The employee, who was married with two children, left a note blaming the "atmosphere" at work for his decision to end his life.

France's opposition Socialist Party yesterday called for Didier Lombard to resign as chief executive of the former state-owned telecoms company, which owns the Orange mobile phone network in the UK. "Resignation is the only solution,'' a party spokesman said. "That is the only possible outcome to this case right now."

A spokeswoman for the party added that it was a "matter of common decency'' for Mr Lombard to step down.

However, a spokesman for President Nicolas Sarkozy said Mr Lombard's resignation "is not the issue".

France Telecom staff booed Mr Lombard when he visited the dead man's work place in Alby-Sur-Cheran, near Geneva, recently.

Earlier this month Mr Lombard was summoned to meet Xavier Darcos, the French labour minister, in order to discuss the tragic turn of events.

France Telecom has suspended the company's "Time to Move" programme which forces managers to change posts every three years.

More than 10,000 of the company's 100,000 staff have been ordered to change roles over the last three years.

The company has also drafted in an extra 100 human resources staff to tackle workplace stress.

Two weeks ago a 32-year-old employee leapt from the fifth-floor of a Paris after she was told her position was under threat.

A 48-year-old technician stabbed himself non-fatally during a meeting in which he was told his post would be scrapped.