DETROIT – General Motors today announced it will implement a compensation program for those who have lost loved ones or who have suffered serious physical injuries as the result of an ignition switch failure in recently recalled vehicles.
“We are taking responsibility for what has happened by taking steps to treat these victims and their families with compassion, decency and fairness,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “We made serious mistakes in the past and as a result we’re making significant changes in our company to ensure they never happen again.”
The program will be independently administered by Kenneth Feinberg, who is highly regarded for his handling of other significant compensation programs.
The program is expected to cover approximately 1.6 million model-year 2003-2007 recalled vehicles manufactured with an ignition switch defect and approximately 1 million model year 2008-2011 recalled vehicles that may have been repaired with a recalled ignition switch.
Pending the independent administrator’s development of final guidelines for the compensation program, GM currently expects the program will begin to accept claims on Aug. 1, 2014. It is GM’s understanding that the administrator’s final compensation program guidelines will be developed in the coming weeks and will include details on where and how to apply for compensation.
General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.
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