GM CEO Mary Barra will discuss the results of GM's internal investigation of the ignition switch recall with employees tomorrow.
What General Motors knew and when it knew it may come to light tomorrow when the automaker releases the findings of its internal investigation of its faulty ignition switch recall.
GM hired Anton Valukas, a former U.S. attorney who also probed the collapse of financial giant Lehman Brothers, to conduct the query into how engineers, lawyers and executives allowed the ignition switch problem – responsible for at least 33 accidents and 13 deaths – to go unresolved for more than a decade before the automaker recalled more than 2.6 million vehicles starting in January.
The investigation is just one of several being conducted. The Justice Department, both houses of Congress and a gaggle of lawyers are also conducting extensive reviews of the issue.
Mary Barra, GM CEO, will discuss the Valukas report with employees in a town hall-style meeting at the GM Tech Center in Warren, Michigan. The company will also conduct a conference call for analysts in the afternoon.
While the report is purported to connect the dots on why GM failed to act sooner – and as a result paid a record $35 million fine – to solve the problem involving the defect, what is still unresolved is how the automaker plans to deal with those impacted by the defect.
GM hired Kenneth Feinberg in last March to assess the situation and provide counsel on what the maker should do next. He has a plethora of experience with these types of situations as he oversaw the 9/11 victim compensation fund as well as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill fund.
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Feinberg, according to multiple reports, is “weeks away” from providing his recommendations on what GM should do for the victims and their families. That hasn’t stopped others for providing suggestions.
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Clarence Ditlow, head of the Center for Auto Safety, told TheDetroitBureau.com he believed the automaker should set up a fund of at least $1 billion. Barclays Analyst Brian Johnston aimed a little higher at $1.5 billion.
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Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. sent an open letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in March asking him to compel GM to set up a fund.
“I urge that DOJ require that GM establish a fund to fully compensate consumers who suffered injury, death, or damage as a result of these lethally defective vehicles,” he wrote in the open letter. “This civil remedy could be done as an interim step, even before completing your criminal investigation and prosecution.”