The U.S. government will hand down a $70 million fine to Japanese airbag maker Takata for mishandling a recall of some 33.8 million faulty airbag inflators, according to the Associated Press.
Frankly, I am surprised this move hasn't come sooner.
In May, Takata agreed to recall its airbag inflators in what became the largest-ever recall in the U.S. The bags could send metal shards rocketing at high speed into vehicle passenger compartments, which were linked to six deaths. Prior to that, the U.S. government had fined the Japanese company $14,000 per day for its unwillingness to cooperate with a then-government probe, according to a Wall Street Journal report in February.
Since the start of the recall, Takata has been accused of putting profit ahead of safety.
“The more evidence we see, the more it paints a troubling picture of a manufacturer that lacked concern,” U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D.-Fla.), the top Democrat on the Commerce Committee, said in a statement in June.
Despite being in the midst of the largest recall in U.S. history, Takata posted profits during 2015. Likely, it's these profits that fuel the fire of those concerned with the company's interest in correctly dealing with the recall and rectifying the situation.