French telecom giant Orange faced a nationwide strike on Tuesday, as unions accused management of using AI and geolocation systems to increase workplace surveillance and pressure employees.

The walkout called by the CGT FAPT and SUD-PTT unions during the company’s annual shareholder meeting centered on demands for higher pay, improved working conditions, and greater safeguards around the rollout of AI-driven management tools.

The Orange group’s tech boss Bruno Zerbib – who worked at several US big tech firms before returning to his native France – has made it clear in interviews that he wants the company to become an "AI-native telco."

To achieve this, Zerbib has said that Orange must pursue a “dual AI strategy” – selling externally the same AI capabilities and practices it implements internally.

This has led to a mass rollout of AI for internal operations while productizing these exact technological stacks and expertise to sell to enterprise customers and other telecom operators.

However, union reps are now saying that Orange workers are becoming concerned that a “management-by-algorithm” culture is developing within the company.

Geolocation worry: Are tools used to snoop on workers?

A key issue among workers and their unions is a new geolocation program for technicians, internally referred to as the Field Service Management (FSM) project or the "Max Intervention" program.

The system is designed to geolocate field technicians and use AI to automatically organize work schedules and interventions.

According to the unions, the system risks creating permanent monitoring of workers, increasing mental workload, and reducing employee autonomy.

Concerns were first raised about this system by the Communication Workers’ Union, FO Communication, in a December-dated post titled: “Modernize, yes! Mistreat workers, no!”

According to a report by the French investigative outlet Mediapart, an independent assessment commissioned by staff representatives has also raised concerns about the project's human impact and compliance with rules governing the protection of personal data.

It has been reported that Orange’s central social and economic committee has initiated legal proceedings to stop the scheme.

The dispute follows growing unease over the introduction of AI tools across several departments at Orange.

Customer service staff feel “like school children"

In Orange’s customer service division, software is being used across several departments to record, transcribe, and analyze conversations between advisers and customers.

In a press statement issued in March, Orange claims that the system “allows advisors to evolve their customer relationship approach, freeing them from research and summarization tasks to focus fully on listening, empathy, and addressing customer needs.”

However, anxious employees have told unions that the system also evaluates behavioral performance and places workers under continuous scrutiny.

One employee described the experience to Mediapart as feeling “very school-like.”

“Since February, I’ve been recording. It feels very school-like – you get good marks and bad marks,” one Orange customer service rep told Mediapart.

“Since February, I’ve been recording. It feels very school-like – you get good marks and bad marks."

Orange customer service rep

“Officially, it’s for training, but I don’t see how it's going to help me improve,” she added.

Unions are opposing further outsourcing and reorganizations that increase geographical mobility.

The FO Comms December FO post affirmed: “AI should be an opportunity, not a step backward. It must respect our dignity, autonomy, and health.”

Orange’s response

In a statement issued to Cybernews, the French telecoms giant rejected claims that the technologies are intended to intensify surveillance.

“Orange takes a responsible and frugal approach to AI, deploying it thoughtfully, at scale, in ways that create genuine value for both business and its customers.”

“More specifically, tools such as Speech Analytics and Field Service Management are designed to help teams in very practical ways: by improving access to relevant information, reducing certain low-value or repetitive tasks, supporting skills development, improving the quality of customer interactions, and helping field operations run more smoothly and efficiently.”

"Tools such as Speech Analytics and Field Service Management are designed to help teams by improving access to relevant information and reducing certain low-value or repetitive tasks."

Orange spokesperson

Orange added that it was focused on supporting employees through AI adoption, with training tailored to different job functions to help staff use AI effectively and responsibly.

The company also claimed that it had established a “clear framework for the responsible use of AI,” ensuring that deployments comply with labor, data protection, and privacy regulations.

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