France Telecom Worker Sets Self on Fire

The years 2008 and 2009 saw more than 30 suicides at France Telecom, and now, another: A 57-year-old man set himself ablaze in a company parking lot, reports the BBC. The victim was the father of four and had been repeatedly transferred at the company where he worked for some 30 years. "The whole staff is completely overwhelmed with emotion," said a spokesman for the union representing the plant near Bordeaux. Unions have blamed restructuring and work pressure for the shocking number of suicides at the company, which was transformed from a government to a private operation. Company officials, who have established a suicide hotline, insist the number of suicides is normal for an operation that employs some 100,000 workers. (More suicide stories.)