GM's Report On Internal Probe Into Vehicle Recall - Update

(RTTNews) - General Motors Co (GM) Thursday released a report on an internal probe into the recall of 2.6 million older small cars for defective ignition switches.

The automaker, which has been censured for its decade-long delay in reporting the defects, attributed incompetence and neglect for the delayed recall. The switch failures has been blamed for 13 deaths.

CEO Mary Barra reiterated her sympathy for the victims of accidents related to the ignition switch defect and their families.

Also, Barra announced that Kenneth Feinberg will administer a compensation program for those who were impacted by the ignition switch failure in recently recalled vehicles.

Barra described the report as "extremely thorough, brutally tough, and deeply troubling."

"Overall the report found that, from start to finish, the Cobalt saga was riddled with failures which led to tragic results for many," Barra said in a statement.

However, Barra said the report did not show any conspiracy by the company to cover up the facts and no evidence that any employee made a trade-off between safety and cost.

Barra said 15 individuals who were determined to have acted inappropriately are no longer with the company. Disciplinary actions have been taken against five other employees.

GM Chairman Tim Solso said the Board of Directors has been working closely with the management team to get the facts on the ignition switch issue and to see that changes are made to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

Barra emphasized to employees that the company has adopted and will continue to adopt sweeping changes in the way it handles safety issues.

GM stock is trading at $36.26, down $0.26 or 0.72%, on a volume of 18.8 million shares on the NYSE.