France Telecom ex-HRD & ex-CEO could face court over staff suicides

The CEO and other senior figures at France Telecom may be put on trial for alleged bullying, after a wave of staff suicides.

At least 19 people are known to have taken their lives in 2008 and 2009 as the company cut thousands of jobs, with judicial sources claiming former boss Didier Lombard is suspected of using a policy of unsettling staff to speed up job losses.

The BBC reports that Lombard’s right-hand man, Louis-Pierre Wenes, HR head Olivier Barberot and four other directors could also face trial.

In 2006, Lombard announced plans to cut 22,000 jobs and move another 14,000 workers, as France Telecom, now Orange, pushed for greater efficiency in the wake of privatisation two years earlier.