Takata Corp. has agreed to plead guilty to criminal wrongdoing and to pay USD1 billion to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into ruptures of its airbag inflators linked to at least 16 deaths worldwide. The deal was announced on Friday hours after prosecutors in Detroit charged three former senior Takata executives with falsifying test results to conceal the inflator defect, which triggered the world’s biggest automotive safety recall.
Takata will pay a USD25 million fine, USD125 million in a victim compensation fund, including for future incidents, and $850 million to compensate automakers for massive recall costs, the Justice Department said. The supplier will be required to make significant reforms and be on probation and under the oversight of an independent monitor for three years.
The recalls have affected 19 automakers to date.
