France Telecom employee burns self to death outside of workplace

A 57-year old employee of France Telecom-Orange reportedly committed suicide by self immolation at the company's Mérignac-Pichey branch in southwest France on Tuesday. This is the company's second employee suicide this year in a rash of suicides that has taken more than 50 of the company's employees since 2008.

France Telecom was formerly a state monopoly, and has undergone significant changes since 1998 as it shifted from the public sector to the competitive deregulated market. This means tens of thousands of jobs have been cut in the last eight years, both through terminations and through voluntary departure incentives.

Between 2006 and 2009, the company eliminated more than 20,000 positions, and many of the suicides in that time were committed by long-term employees who had to alter their lives as a result of the transition.

The man who died on Tuesday morning was with France Telecom for 30 years. He was reportedly a father of four and a member of the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC).

"I'm shocked. I am overwhelmed by this action, and we will try to understand its cause," Gerard Krebs, Regional Director of France Telecom in Aquitaine told Nouvel Observateur. "We are doing everything we can to help the family and the police in their investigation this morning."

The suicides at France Telecom and allegations of employee harassment prompted a supreme court investigation into the company's practices last year.