France Telecom: We'll meet our 2009 goals

It has been a tough year to say the least for France Telecom, yet the company remains confident that it will achieve its financial targets for 2009. The once state-run telco has seen an unprecedented number of employee suicides over the past year (25 to date) over poor working conditions and ongoing layoffs.

Achieving these goals won't be easy. France Telecom reported that its third-quarter earnings were $6.72 billion and said that it would cost the company up to $1.45 billion to improve employee morale. However, FT's revenue dropped 6.4 percent to $18.8 billion, falling short of analyst forecasts of $19.03 billion.

"We are exactly in line with what we have said at the end of the year, and I consider that we will be able to deliver the performance we have promised to the market for the full year for France Telecom," Chief Executive Officer Didier Lombard told a news conference in Vietnam's capital.

For more:
- Reuters has this article

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