June 6, 2014—General Motors (GM) CEO Mary Barra announced Thursday the results of former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas’ independent investigation of GM’s ignition switch recall.
Barra said the in-depth report revealed “a pattern of incompetence and neglect.” The findings highlighted that while the issue existed for more than 11 years, no one at the company took responsibility or ever demonstrated a sense of urgency—even after it was clear that the ignition switch had caused deaths.
Barra outlined a series of actions GM has taken to rectify the issue, including terminating 15 employees and taking disciplinary action against five others. A fund for the affected families has also been established.
She also outlined five other steps the company has taken:
- Naming Jeff Boyer vice president of safety for the company, keeping the safety process under a single leader.
- Adding 35 safety investigators, which Barra said has already been beneficial to the company.
- Instituting a “Speak Up for Safety” program and a plan to recognize employees for bringing safety issues to light.
- The creation and implementation of a new Global Product Integrity organization at the company.
- Restructuring the safety decision-making process to make senior management at the center of safety issues.
“But I never want to put this behind us. I want to keep this painful experience permanently in our collective memories,” Barra said in her announcement to the company Thursday. “I don't want to forget what happened because I—and I know you—never want this to happen again.
To read Barra’s full speech from Thursday, click here.
