Viswa Vanapalli
Netflix’s ‘Fugitive: The Curious Case of Carlos Ghosn’ explores the life of former automotive executive Carlos Ghosn, who was responsible for Renault and Nissan’s turnaround before accusations of financial misconduct brought about his downfall. The documentary also looks at Carlos’ ruthless practices at the helm of Renault. While they did lead to tremendous success, the company’s conduct was later linked to employees killing themselves. Sylvie Touzet, whose husband used to work for the French car manufacturer, shared what happened with him. So, if you want to find out more, here’s what we know.
Who is Sylvie Touzet?
Sylvie Touzet’s husband was employed at Renault’s Technocentre in France in 2006. On the show, she stated that Carlos had decided to cut costs at the Technocentre by 30%, which meant there was extra pressure and stress on the employees that remained. Sylvie remembered that her husband worked more than 12 hours a day and wouldn’t even be home on weekends. In the months leading up to Sylvie’s husband’s death, she mentioned that he had consistently worked more than 90 hours a week, sometimes even pushing past 100 hours.
Furthermore, Sylvie said her husband lost almost eight kilos in six weeks and told her that the company wouldn’t forgive any mistakes he made. Then, one afternoon in October 2006, Sylvie got a call from the authorities regarding her husband’s demise. Initially, Sylvie thought he had been in a car accident. However, it turned out that her husband had killed himself by jumping off the footbridge at the Renault Technocentre. In the time leading up to the incident, Sylvie’s husband, an engineer, was overworked and stressed about potentially moving to a different country for work and leaving his family behind.
According to Sylvie, he barely slept. In the following months, another employee was found drowned in a lake near the Technocenter, and in February 2007, a worker hung himself at home; he blamed work pressure on the suicide note he left behind. The authorities began investigating these deaths, and Sylvie was also in a legal battle against Renault to prove they were responsible for her husband’s suicide. In 2011, a French appeal court ruled that the carmaking company was responsible, saying they had ignored the warning signs of the engineer’s physical distress.
Where is Sylvie Touzet Today?
In May 2012, Renault was found guilty of gross negligence in relation to the three suicides, bringing some sense of closure to Sylvie. In the documentary, she talked about how the pain of losing her husband eased over time, but not the anger. Today, it seems that Sylvie is doing much better. She has a Ph.D. in Physics from Joseph Fourier University and a certificate in Humanitarian Program Management from the Bioforce Institute in France.
Sylvie worked with Solvay, a chemical manufacturing company, for about eight years, until 2012. She also worked for the French Red Cross as a Researcher and later as a Mobility Project Manager. In addition, Sylvie worked for Doctors Without Borders as a Research and Development Manager for about two years until June 2018. Currently, Sylvie is based out of Paris, France.
Read More: Where is Carole Ghosn Now?
