• The manager of a Lidl store in Brittany killed herself in early September.

  • She had left a letter in which she denounced the harassment and the pressure she was under from her management.

  • A rally takes place this Monday afternoon in front of the group's regional management to pay tribute to him.

She ended her life on the night of September 5 to 6 not far from her home. Before taking her own life, this manager of the Lidl store in Lamballe Côtes-d'Armor had left a letter to her relatives to denounce the harassment and the pressure she was under from her management. To pay tribute to this 49-year-old woman, who had worked for the German brand for 27 years, a rally will take place this Monday afternoon in front of the headquarters of the group's regional management in Ploumagoar near Guingamp. "We no longer want to experience such a tragedy because unfortunately there could have been others," denounces Arnaud Rouxel, CGT union delegate.

On sick leave since the summer of 2020, this mother of two children, who was "very invested in her work and had climbed the ranks", had filed a complaint shortly after for moral harassment.

"Her work was constantly denigrated, we kept telling her that she was not at the level," said the trade unionist.

Sad coincidence of the calendar, she had received a notice to victim the day after her disappearance informing her that her request for the constitution of civil party was accepted.

Searches and custody at regional headquarters on February 16

The manager of the Lamballe store is not the only one to have complained about the "toxic management" and the "deleterious climate" which reigned within the regional management of the group as evidenced by the forty complaints filed by of collaborators. Faced with the magnitude of the case, judicial information had been opened by the Saint-Brieuc prosecutor's office. This led to searches carried out on February 16 in the premises of the regional directorate and the placement in police custody of nine people from the supervisory team. "The accusations raised in this investigation are serious and absolutely do not correspond to the policy of the company or to the actions carried out daily to recruit, train and support the development of our 40,000 employees in France", then reacted the sign.

While the investigation continues, Arnaud Rouxel does not understand that no action has been taken by the management following these custody.

"Despite the many alerts, nothing has been done and we now find ourselves facing such a tragedy, it is staggering", does not take offense to the trade unionist, who hopes "for indictments as quickly as possible".

Recently, the German distribution group was indicted for manslaughter and harassment after the suicide of an employee who was found hanged in a warehouse near Aix-en-Provence in 2015.

Justice

Lidl indicted for manslaughter and moral harassment after the suicide of an employee in the Bouches-du-Rhône

Justice

Lidl ordered to pay 3.7 million euros to Intermarché for unfair competition

  • Distribution

  • Bullying

  • Moral harassment

  • Suicide

  • Society

  • Social