Gwladys Laffitte, edited by Nathanaël Bentura 07:46, May 11, 2022
At the end of the 2000s, after a wave of suicides, France Telecom had become the symbol of suffering at work.
Six executives go back to trial, for two months.
They appealed their conviction for moral harassment or complicity before the Paris Court of Appeal.
One name stands out, that of former CEO Didier Lombard.
It had become the symbol of suffering at work.
At the end of the 2000s, a wave of suicides in the French telecommunications company France Télécom (now Orange) was the starting point of a huge scandal that ended with the conviction in the first instance of several executives for moral harassment or complicity, in 2019. Six of them appealed their conviction and leave this Wednesday for two months of trial before the Paris Court of Appeal.
One name stands out, that of former CEO Didier Lombard.
Forceps departures and transfers
At 80, Didier Lombard will again have to explain the policy he implemented in the mid-2000s to drastically reduce the workforce of France Telecom.
The court considered at first instance that Didier Lombard had a preeminent role in this policy of forced march "with prohibited means".
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In total, 22,000 departures were to be made "through the window or through the door", in the words of Didier Lombard at the material time.
The court had therefore sentenced him to one year in prison, including four months, just like the former number two of France Telecom, Louis-Pierre Wenès.
Alongside them, four former officials are also retried.
All are suspected of having participated or of having been accomplices in the moral harassment of employees: forced transfers, lower wages, sidelining or harassment by email to speed up departures.
A total of 19 suicides had been examined by the courts and twelve suicide attempts.