In his first major interview since taking over at the firm this month, new France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard (pictured) has vowed to restore morale following a spate of employee suicides and return the firm to growth in 2011. Richard told the Financial Times that he will hold a meeting today with the top 500 global managers at France’s leading telecoms company about plans for a five-year strategy that will address social as well as financial issues. His most pressing task will be to draw a line under a regime that has seen 35 France Telecom employees commit suicide since 2008, a result – say critics – of a harshly implemented restructuring programme at the firm. The issue led to the early exit of former CEO Didier Lombard, who stepped down from the role a year early last month. “I hope that in the mid to long term, there will be many fewer suicides within France Telecom,” Richard told the Financial Times. “First, because we will have much younger people and, second, because we will hopefully be able to provide them with a better quality of life at work.” Richard added the restructurings undertaken by Lombard during his five years in charge meant no new large-scale programmes are needed for the time being. However, he hinted that his plan was to shift towards a younger workforce over the coming decade. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Richard plans to base the operator’s top managers’ bonuses on ‘social’ criteria, including worker happiness, as part of a wider plan to boost morale. Mr. Richard said as much as 30 percent of the variable pay of France Telecom’s top 1,100 managers would be based on social criteria. Another factor likely to be taken into account when evaluating performance would be absenteeism amongst employees working under the manager, Mr. Richard said.

Last month, France Telecom – which owns the Orange mobile brand – forecast that revenues, earnings and cash flow for the current year will be in line with 2009, providing a smooth transition for the incoming CEO. However, Richard said he wants to restore growth in 2011 and is aiming to double its revenue from its African and Middle Eastern businesses within five years, after reporting sales of EUR3.4 billion in 2009. But in contrast to his predecessor, Richard already appears to have ruled out pursuing large-scale acquisitions. Instead, he has indicated his interest in buying smaller telecoms assets in Africa and the Middle East, and in combining some of France Telecom’s European businesses with rivals.