General Motors recently lost its fourth executive amid investigations into a botched recall of nearly 2.6 million vehicles.
The automaker recently announced that it was losing Jim Federico, its senior engineer in charge of global vehicle integration.
One GM spokesman told reporters that Federico’s departure was voluntary and unrelated to the recent scandal surrounding the carmaker’s failure to recall cars with faulty ignition switches.
About 13 deaths have been linked to the product defect which can shut off power to a car during operation, including airbag system power. There is evidence that Federico previously looked into the ignition switch problem when he was the chief engineer in the company’s small-car division.
The New York Times reports that the company knew of ignition switch problems as early as 2001. Two engineers directly involved with the ignition switch issue have been suspended. The company’s communications chief and HR head have also left.
These departures come during a time of ongoing congressional investigations into what the executive leadership of the company knew during the decade leading up to the massive recall. There is evidence that the company knew of the ignition switch issue but decided against a recall due to financial motives.
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