Barra responded forcefully, announcing she would release an “unvarnished” report following a thorough review and vowing to improve how GM handles defect reports.
“Today’s announcement underscores the focus we’re putting on the safety and peace of mind of our customers,” Barra said in a statement Monday.
“I asked our team to redouble our efforts on our pending product reviews, bring them forward and resolve them quickly.”
In a video statement to employees, Barra said the federal probes are “serious developments that shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
“After all, something went wrong with our process in this instance and terrible things happened,” she said.
Barra’s transparency recognizes the damage the company could face after painstakingly rebuilding its reputation following a 2009 government-backed bankruptcy restructuring.
Japanese rival Toyota recalled some 12 million vehicles worldwide at a cost of $2.4 billion in 2009-2010.
Toyota executives were forced to appear at US Congressional hearings, where they were sharply denounced for allegedly hiding and downplaying dangerous defects in some of the company’s most popular models.
GM faces only small official fines at the moment: a possible $35 million, minute compared to $155 billion in revenues last year.
However, the automaker said Monday it would take a $300 million charge in the first quarter “primarily for the cost of the repairs for the three safety actions and the previously announced ignition switch recall.”
GM’s problems could yet spread.