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The cases of four French companies under high competitive pressure and media attention are used to study the management of human capital in times of crisis. Following a series of employee suicides, the companies’ management teams were forced to react to preserve their legitimacy, which was sometimes tarnished in press articles. Journalists opted for a narrative pattern, often fragmented, but listening to the stakeholders. The central concepts that emerge—derived from a qualitative analysis of newspaper articles—are those of the corporate responsibility of the company and its managers, a temptation on their part toward denial, and finally an organizational response to the emergency.