Senators condemn General Motors’ ongoing ‘culture of coverups’

Published by Mike on April 2, 2014

GM CEO Mary Barra worked to distance herself from a problem that originated more than a decade ago.

Despite much rhetoric about a reformed corporate culture at General Motors, several US senators said Wednesday the company’s new leaders are behaving a lot like the old ones.

In a hearing filled with barbed exchanges Wednesday, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee accused GM of engaging in a “culture of cover up,” for its role in hiding a deadly defect for more than a decade. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said the company had purposely hindered disclosure of an ignition-switch defect that has killed at least 13 motorists.

Even as General Motors CEO Mary Barra worked to distance herself from a problem that originated more than a decade ago by differentiating between an old corporate culture and a newer, more safety-oriented one, other members of the Senate Commerce Committee said the company’s leadership has continued to stymie the safety interests of millions of motorists and conceal problems in recent months.

“Even under the ‘new’ GM, it took the company nine months to take action after this egregious violation of public trust,” McCaskill said, noting companies are supposed to recall defective vehicles within five days of learning of safety defects.

In one of the most contentious portions of the hearing, McCaskill charged that a senior General Motors engineer perjured himself during testimony last year in a lawsuit related to the ignition-switch flaw. The engineer, Ray DeGeorgio, claimed under oath that he had no knowledge of a change in ignition-switch parts when documents later revealed he signed a form ordering a parts change.

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