Mary Barra: GM Internal Report Shows 'Pattern of Incompetence'

Jun 05, 2014 03:38 PM EDT | Jordan Ecarma

General Motors' internal investigation report is available online and details the company's look into the faulty ignition switches that were connected with 13 deaths.

Released Thursday, the 325-page report is partially redacted to obscure the names of customers who died in small cars, Jalopnik reported.

CEO Mary Barra said the company followed a "pattern of incompetence and neglect" that was evident in the internal investigation, Edmunds.com reported.

"I was deeply saddened and disturbed as I read the report," said Barra, according to a transcript of the speech from USA TODAY.

"I want it known that this recall issue isn't merely an engineering or manufacturing or legal problem, it represents a fundamental failure to meet the basic needs of these customers.

"Our job is clear: To build high quality, safe vehicles. In this case with these vehicles, we didn't do our job. We failed these customers."

The recall, which included 2.6 million small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, was related to ignition switch problems that GM knew about more than a decade ago. In the wake of the sobering recall, 15 GM employees, including seven unnamed executives, have been let go.

"I want you to never forget it," Barra said of the recall crisis, as quoted by Edmunds. "This is not just another business crisis for General Motors. We are going to fix the failures in our system. I never want to put this behind us. I want to keep this painful experience permanently in our collective memory."

GM has already recalled around 15 million vehicles, but Barra said a "few more" recalls should be expected in the next few weeks.

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