DETROIT - General Motors has suspended two engineers with pay in the first disciplinary action linked to its delayed recall of more than 2 million small cars for an ignition switch problem.
GM says at least 13 people have been killed in crashes linked to the defective switch, but family members of those who died say the death toll is much higher.
The move announced Thursday stems from GM’s internal investigation of the matter. At congressional hearings last week, lawmakers alleged that at least one company engineer tried to cover up the switch problem. GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra promised action against anyone deemed to have acted inappropriately.
GM, in a statement, said the engineers were placed on leave after a briefing from former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas, whom GM has hired to figure out why it took more than a decade to recall the cars.
Company spokesman Greg Martin would not identify the engineers. Two people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News the engineers are Ray DeGiorgio and Gary Altman.
“This is an interim step as we seek the truth about what happened,” Barra said in the statement. “It was a difficult decision, but I believe it is best for GM.”
GM is recalling 2.6 million compact cars worldwide, mostly Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions, to replace the switches. The Justice Depart-ment and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are investigating GM’s slow response to the problem.
During a hearing last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., accused GM engineer DeGiorgio of trying to cover up the switch problem. De-Giorgio said in a deposition last year for a lawsuit against GM that he never approved a change to the ignition switch.
But McCaskill produced a document from 2006 showing he signed off on a replacement but with the same part number. Failing to change a part number makes the part harder to track.
Lawmakers were also critical of a decision made within GM’s engineering ranks to not implement a proposed fix for the switch because it would be too costly and time-consuming.
Barra acknowledged at the hearing that DeGiorgio still works for GM.
She called the failure to change the part number “unacceptable.” She also said if inappropriate decisions were made, GM would take action, including firing those involved.
On Thursday, McCaskill said in a statement that “it’s about time” GM took action.
“This marks a small step in the right direction for GM to take responsibility for poor - and possibly criminal - decisions that cost lives and put millions of American consumers at risk,” she said.
GM declined to make De-Giorgio or Altman available for comment. DeGiorgio did not return telephone messages left by The Associated Press. A recording on DeGiorgio’s work voice mail said he was away from the office and refers business calls to two other GM employees.
Also on Thursday, GM announced a program to recognize employees who speak up when they see something that could affect the safety of customers.
“GM employees should raise safety concerns quickly and forcefully, and be recognized for doing so,” Barra said in the statement.
The ignition switches on the small cars can unexpectedly slip out of the “run” position to “accessory” or “off.”
That shuts off the engine and the power-assisted steering and brakes and can cause drivers to lose control of their cars. It also disables the air bags. In many of the crashes, drivers have inexplicably veered off the road or into traffic.
Parts to begin fixing the cars are to start arriving at dealerships today. But Barra has said it likely will take until October before all the cars are repaired.
Shares of GM fell 32 cents, or 1 percent, to close Thursday at $33.30.
DeGiorgio, who turns 61 this month, has made no public statements.
DeGiorgio’s job in 1999 was to lead a team designing an ignition switch for GM’s next generation of small cars. The Cobalt ignition switch, which was also used in the Saturn Ion, was among the first ones he designed, he said in a deposition taken for a wrongful-death suit in Georgia against GM.
The team consisted of DeGiorgio, suppliers, project engineers and validation engineers, he said.
Altman, meanwhile, was overseeing GM’s push for small cars to replace the aging Chevy Cavalier.
Altman, testifying in a deposition in the same Georgia lawsuit, said that his roughly 35 years at GM included a stint as the Cobalt’s project engineering manager, overseeing designers, engineers and manufacturers, from about 2000 until May 2005.
At the time, GM’s profit margins were shrinking, and they were facing increased pressure to cut costs. About 2000, Altman gathered more than a dozen managers together to deliver a message that they would need to find ways to reduce costs of the vehicles, including a suggestion to pull parts from existing models, according to a person who was at the meeting in the automaker’s suburban Detroit technical center.
Information for this article was contributed by Tom Krisher of The Associated Press and Tim Higgins, Jeff Green and Patrick G. Lee of Bloomberg News.
Business, Pages 27 on 04/11/2014