Threat of criminal investigation at Renault on employee suicides Deaths underline need for risk manager awareness of stress issues

By Rick Mitchell

[Paris] French automaker Renault S.A. faces a possible criminal investigation into recent suicides of three employees who worked at its state-of-the-art design center in Guyancourt, a western suburb of Paris, sources say.

A work inspector from the ministry of labor, social relations and solidarity filed a complaint based on its investigation of the cases to the public prosecutor's office in Versailles, which is under the ministry of justice, according to a spokeswoman. Experts said prosecutors could file criminal charges, but may also reject the case or ask for further investigation.

Concerns

Government officials, labor representatives and health experts have expressed concern over a spate of suicides at major French industrial companies, including Renault's rival, Peugeot, a unit of PSA Peugeot Citroen, Electricite de France S.A. and Areva S.A., all based in Paris. Xavier Bertrand, the labor minister, has asked officials from affected companies to participate in a conference on workplace stress this fall, the spokeswoman said.

The cases highlight the need for risk managers to actively become involved in policies to protect employees' mental health, experts say.

At Renault, to date the only company to face a criminal investigation, labor unions say extensive job cuts combined with unrealistic objectives have created workplace stress and harassment, contributing to the suicides. The company has denied these allegations.

"[An employee suicide] is absolutely the domain of the risk manager," said Pierre Sonigo, secretary general of the Brussels-based Federation of European Risk Management Associations. "They have to take immediate action to deal with several critical risks—image, social, legal and financial," he noted. "There is also a criminal risk for management, and risk of lawsuits," he said. He recommended risk managers "quickly create a crisis cell, working with human resources, and communication."

Three Renault Technocentre employees—an engineer and two technicians—killed themselves between October 2006 and February 2007, said a spokeswoman for Renault. Experts said a criminal investigation could hinge on whether the suicides were linked. The Renault spokeswoman denied any such link.

"They were very different people who did not know each other and did very different jobs on different projects in different sectors," she said.

Renault has already filed an appeal of a June decision by French Social Security, the state health insurance agency, to treat one of the suicides as a workplace accident. "Renault has already paid the [victim's] family. Our appeal will have no effect on them," she added.

"That case happened on the Technocentre premises. It is an especially scandalous decision to appeal it," said Philippe Martinez, secretary for metallurgy and automobile construction at the Paris-based Confédération Générale du Travail, a labor union.

"At least one worker left a letter describing stressful conditions at work," he said.

Mr. Sonigo contended with employee suicides as a risk manager at Pechiney S.A.—the French aluminum conglomerate acquired by Alcan in 2003, from which he is retired."[A suicide] can create a significantly bad social climate, obviously at the site where it happened, but also for the entire enterprise," he said.

"The company needs a medium- to long-term plan to ensure there is no domino effect. For example, there has to be anti-stress training," he said.

Reaction

The Renault spokeswoman said the automaker has taken those steps.

"We consulted specialists to set up a way to help management better detect certain fragile employees and direct them to medical help. We improved training and hired more employees to improve working conditions. It is a long-term project," she said. "The automobile industry is extremely competitive. Of course there are moments with a lot of pressure," she said. "But no one really knows why people commit suicide. It is a mysterious subject," she added.

At Peugeot, six employees have committed suicide in 2007. Peugeot did not wish to comment.