During the congressional subcommittee hearing yesterday, General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced that the company has retained the services of Kenneth Feinberg to help explore legal options in dealing with families impacted by faulty ignition switches.
“Mr. Feinberg is highly qualified, and is very experienced in the handling of matters such as this,” said Barra, who is in Washington testifying before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “He brings expertise and objectivity to this effort, and will help us evaluate the situation and recommend the best path forward.”
Feinberg is known for handling of compensation issues related to the Twin Towers bombing, the BP oil spill, and the Boston Marathon bombing.
“My mandate from the company is to consider the options for dealing with issues surrounding the ignition switch matter, and to do so in an independent, balanced and objective manner based upon my prior experience,” Feinberg said.
Barra has outlined the measures General Motors has taken to address the ignition switch recall:
- Commissioned two (and asked for a third) production lines from supplier Delphi for new parts, which will begin flowing to dealers on schedule next week
- Enhanced customer call center staffing to ensure minimal wait times
- Providing loaner and rental vehicles to concerned customers who drive one of the recalled vehicles
- Retained former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas to lead a comprehensive internal investigation with free rein to go where the facts take him
- Appointed Jeff Boyer as new Vice President for Global Vehicle Safety whose first priority is to quickly identify and resolve product safety and customer satisfaction issues
Barra’s oral testimony can be found at media.gm.com.
Comment
You know, there’s a segment in our society that’s hell bent on going after the large corporate fat cats and major players in this country and in some cases it’s totally justified. Should GM be held responsible? Of course they should and I also think those within GM should be identified and exposed for either deliberate indifference, incompetence or flat out greed. However, my heart goes out to GM’s newly appointed COE Mary Barra for all she appears to have done is inherited a major setback for GM through the deeds of her predecessors. Mary appears to definitely be in the “HOT SEAT” in all this and it’s her face that’s going to always be connected to this disaster, however she has come across to me as being truly earnest and up front in the testimonies she has provided, togetherwith every move she has made thus far. CEO Barra has displayed both character and true concerns over doing whats morally right for GM and all the affected customers of this catastrophic failure on the part of prior management of GM. GREAT JOB MARY!