Automotive News reports General Motors CEO Mary Barra delivered a 15-minute blistering speech before those in attendance and online regarding the Valukas report, which detailed the how and why a defective ignition switch first brought to life in 2001 led to the February 2014 recall of 2.6 million vehicles so equipped and the firestorm that followed. In her words, "nobody took responsibility" for the problems, that "there was no demonstrated sense of urgency" during the time period to fix the problems that still haunt the automaker. Barra added that she would never put the recall crisis behind GM, to "keep this painful experience" permanently upon the head of the corporation so as nothing like this would ever occur once more. At the end, she proclaimed her belief in GM and its employees in being able to face "the truth" about itself, and that the General overall was better than its previous actions.
After Barra dropped the mic, the automaker announced 15 individuals with ties to the ignition switch recall were fired. Of those no longer employed, seven have been identified thus far:
- Ray DeGiorgio: Engineer
- Mike Robinson: Vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs
- Gay Kent: General director of vehicle safety
- Carmen Benavides: Director of field product investigations
- William Kemp: Senior lawyer, safety
- Gary Altman: Program engineering manager
- Lawrence Buonomo: Senior lawyer, product liability
The remaining eight have yet to be named as of this writing.
Over in the Beltway, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce and U.S. Senate Commerce committees have called Barra and Anton Valukas for the second round of testimonies the former promised would occur once the independent investigation led by Valukas released its findings to the public. Representative Fred Upton of Michigan and Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, both chairs of their respective committees, both noted it would take time to go over the report before drawing their conclusions. McCaskill warned that she would not allow "GM leadership, or federal regulators, escape accountability" over the recall and the 47 accidents — including 13 fatalities thus far — linked to it.
Finally, Barra warned the recall parade that began in February would likely continue "in the near term," abating "to historical levels, or slightly higher" as claimed by CFO Chuck Stevens in the conference call with analysts following Barra's speech. She also promised that GM's recall efforts would become "the new norm" for the automaker as it follows the CEO's focus on customer safety.
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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