**France Telecom’s second-in-command has resigned, after weeks of criticism over management’s handling of a spate of suicides by employees.**Deputy CEO Louis-Pierre Wenes will be replaced by Stephane Richard, the head of international operations, France Telecom said in a statement.
Unions blame restructuring at the firm for some of the 24 suicides by company employees in the last 20 months.
France Telecom says the suicide rate is not unusual for a company of its size.
The company laid off some 22,000 people in the years 2006-2008.
Mr Wenes and current chief executive Didier Lombard had faced calls to resign, but Mr Lombard retains the support of the French government, which still owns 27% of the firm.
Last month, Mr Lombard vowed to end the “spiral of death” at the firm by setting up a helpline, offering more psychological counselling and suspending all staff transfers until 31 October.
The most recent suicide came last week, when a 51-year-old father of two jumped to his death from a motorway overpass. He left a suicide note blaming the “atmosphere” at work.