PARIS, Oct 20 (Reuters) - France Telecom said on Tuesday it would put off any restructuring of sites or offices in France until the end of the year, meeting a demand from labour unions.
The telecom operator has suffered a series of suicides among its workers that has seen 25 people take their own lives since the beginning of 2008.
Labour unions blame ongoing cost-cutting and restructuring for creating poor working conditions that are pushing some workers to the edge.
A spokesman for France Telecom said the promise not to merge or close any sites through the end of the year had been made in the context of ongoing negotiations with unions about how to combat stress in the workplace.
Earlier in the month, France Telecom said it would freeze all worker transfers till the end of the year.
The suicides have sparked a political and media storm in France, with some political parties and unions calling for the France Telecom CEO Didier Lombard to resign.
On Saturday, Lombard told French newspaper le Figaro he did not plan to step aside and that measures were being taken to tackle the situation.
Analysts have been watching the situation carefully for signs as to whether it will affect the performance of the group.
The firm has said it plans to cut costs by 1.7 billion euros through 2011, with 32 percent of the amount to come from France. (Reporting by Marie Mawad, writing by Leila Abboud; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)