Former French Telecom CEO Jailed for Harassment After Staff Suicides

Didier Lombard gets 1-year jail term, maximum allowed at time
France Telecom used ‘forbidden’ means to carry out staff cuts

Didier Lombard at Porte de Clichy courthouse in Paris, in May.Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg

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By Gaspard Sebag

December 20, 2019 at 10:43 AM UTC

Updated on

December 20, 2019 at 1:19 PM UTC

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France’s biggest phone company and its former chief executive officer were found guilty of harassment in a criminal trial linked to a wave of employee suicides that rocked the firm a decade ago.

France Telecom, a former monopoly now called Orange SA, and ex-CEO Didier Lombard used “forbidden” methods to carry out staff cuts and are criminally responsible for harassment that took place between 2007 and 2008, Paris judge Cecile Louis-Loyant said.