France Telecom says the suicide rate is not unusual for a company of its size.

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. 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.