GM could face wider problems due to a scandal in which employees cheated on emissions testing with the Chevrolet Tavera.

General Motors confirmed it has fired several employees while the maker’s global engine development chief, Sam Winegarden is “retiring” in the wake of faulty emissions tests that violated company policy.

It’s the latest in a series of departures linked to violations of company policy including last year’s unceremonious ouster of global marketing chief Joel Ewanick and, just this month, the firing of Cadillac’s top sales and service executive Chase Hawkins.

The latest scandal was triggered by an internal investigation into the recall of a sport-utility in India which uncovered violations of company policy, the automaker said. The cheating scandal could cause extensive problems for GM in India and other parts of the world for quite some time.

“General Motors’ investigation into our recall of the Chevrolet Tavera, which is built and sold exclusively in India, identified violations of company policy,” GM spokesman Greg Martin said. “GM subsequently dismissed several employees. We take these matters very seriously and hold our leaders and employees to high standards. When those standards are not met, we will take the appropriate action to hold employees accountable.”

The fired employees included workers in India and the U.S., GM said without specifying the number involved. But among those snared by the investigation was Sam Winegarden, GM executive vice president in charge of the company’s global engine development.

Weingarden has announced he is retiring after 44 years with the company. Winegarden’s departure is the latest in which a senior GM executive has been held responsible for violations of company policy.

Less than two weeks ago Cadillac summarily terminated sales and service director Hawkins, who joined the luxury brand in 2010 and took on his most recent position two years later.  Hawkins had joined General Motors in 1996 and served in several positions overseas, including jobs in South Africa and the Middle East. His ouster comes at an awkward time for the maker which is in the midst of some critical product launches – and a push to expand its presence outside North America.

But It was an more embarrassing dilemma GM found itself in a year ago when GM’s global marketing chief Joel Ewanick was also ousted with little notice after a review found fault with the handling of sponsorship deal with Manchester United, the world’s most famous soccer team.

A number of executives have either been forced out due to problems with their performance, while another senior GM executive who had been promoted to a key position in GM’s European operations was held responsible for a glitch in the new 2014 Silverado. The problem was found and corrected before the truck went on sale but the executive resigned.

The disclosure of the scandal in India came as the Indian government opened an investigation into complaints that GM employees had manipulated emissions tests during the past eight years to comply with local government requirements.

The Indian government is reviewing its systems and investigating GM to see if there were systemic errors, willful negligence or other wrongdoing, Ambuj Sharma, joint secretary at India’s Ministry of Heavy Industry, said in a statement. The report should be completed next month and GM faces the possibility of monetary penalties and production stoppage, Sharma said.

As in most countries, government regulators honor the compliance tests manufacturers conduct on their own.

The Economic Times in India reported that GM said in a July 18 letter to the government that an internal investigation uncovered employees manipulating emissions tests for the Tavera. Six days later, the maker announced a recall of the SUV covering the years 2005 through 2013 to “address emissions and specification issues.” The company at the time said it was “not safety-related.”

Nonetheless, the admission by GM is bound to heighten the scrutiny of the company’s emission tests around the world.

The scandal in India also could hurt the growth of GM’s Chevrolet brand, which has emerged as one of GM’s major strategic objectives since the company emerged from bankruptcy four years ago.

Dan Ammann, GM’s chief financial officer, said last week India is considered one of the world’s top growth markets.

Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.